Kyoya's Necklace
by Tigyr
Summary: Haruhi gave her King a gift when they were kids, years later Kyoya is attending Ouran High School, can he find the princess who brought light to his shadows? A Kyoya/Haruhi fic
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

^-^ Author's Note: Not only is this my first Ouran Fic, I have the privilege of writing it with Serina Bardon. ^-^

Prologue:

Kyoya's hand tightened around the chain he kept hidden around his neck. He didn't wear it very often, but when he did it was because it reminded him of a simpler time, a time of happiness and friendship, something that he didn't have a lot of these days. Well with the exception of a certain blonde-haired idiot, who was slowly working his way into Kyoya's affections. Tamaki Suoh was many things, brash, impulsive, and yes in many ways an idiot, but he was also one of the kindest young men that Kyoya had ever met.

"Kyoya, what's going on with you today? You've been silent even for you." The idiot could be observant when he wanted to be, Kyoya thought.

"Kyoya, are you okay? Do you want me to leave? We can discuss the club later if you want."

Kyoya straightened his glasses as he stated, "I'm fine Tamaki, you were mentioning Morinozuka and Haninozuka as well as the Hitachiin twins as possible candidates for hosts and from what I've managed to discover, they should fit in quite well. The only thing we will need to do is find a reasonable way to finance the initial setup costs."

"Well, I have that planned out already. I'll finance the initial setup fees, after all I am the King of our little club and then we can charge as we see fit. The first visit will be free and after that we'll have a specific amount that each host can earn."

"Hmm, twenty percent of the profits goes back to the club then I take it. But are you sure you want a free admission on the first visit." Kyoya was writing down the information as Tamaki relayed it to him. He wasn't comfortable with the free visit however.

"We want them to come back don't we? The first visit is free, after that if they want to designate a host they have to pay a fee. That sounds fair doesn't it?" The blonde idiot knew nothing about financing, that much was a given.

"Hmm, what about we just charge a first time fee of 500 yen. After that if they want to designate a host we can charge according to the event and the host or hosts. I imagine the twins will be one act, Mori and Honey-senpai's can be either together or separate depending on their other activities and then you and I will be separate as well. We cannot afford to not have a fee, Tamaki, there's no merit or profit in it and we stand a good chance of losing money if we don't."

"Are you sure we have to charge them anything?"

"Do you trust my financial advice or not?" Kyoya glared at him through his glasses and Tamaki nodded slowly. "Then we do this my way or not at all. If the club does okay, then we can discuss fees for each host."

"Okay. Are you sure you're okay Kyoya?"

Kyoya traced the hidden chain and smiled a sad, almost lonely smile, "I'll be fine."

After Tamaki left, Kyoya took out the chain and traced a finger along its length. He wondered briefly what the presenter of the charm hanging off the chain would think of him now. He was still the third son of the Otori group. He was still trying to be better than his brothers. He still wanted to prove to his father that he was not just a third son, he was a man on a mission.

"What am I going to do? I'm going to prove that I can surpass every one of them. No matter what the cost to me in the long run."

As he mused about his current situation, he remembered her. The one with dark brown hair, and soft, soulful, dark brown eyes.

A soft childish voice raced through his mind, "Catch me if you can Kyo!"

Laughter, songs, fun-filled days. Those were all long behind him. And yet, "Wait for me Haru!"

The past still sang to him, it's bittersweet song reminded him of brighter days, and a sweet childhood friend. One who had disappeared from his life shortly before his sixth birthday. All he had left of her was a small charm in the shape of a crown. The stones were smokey quartz, and he remembered asking her about it on the day she'd given it to him.

"You have shadows in your eyes, like you hide pain or tears. You're my Shadow King, Kyoya."

"You're my Princess of Light then," he'd stated and she'd smiled at him for accepting not only her gift but her nickname for him. He'd asked her why she'd given him the gift early and she smiled again, but this time her eyes had shadows in them and he knew that something was wrong.

"I'm not sure when I can come back, mommy's sick again. It might be a long time before I can play again. I...I'm sorry," she started crying and he knew from past conversations that she was scared for her mother's health.

He gave her an awkward hug as he said, "I'm sorry about your mother. I hope she gets better soon."

"Master Kyoya! It's time to go sir! We have to get back before your parents know we've gone."

"Thank you Tachibana. Will you be okay, Haru? Do you need a ride home?"

"Master Kyoya! Please sir!"

Even then he'd had a stare that could quail most of his servants, Tachibana gulped as he pleaded one more time for his young master to get into the limousine.

"I'll be fine, Kyoya. Happy Birthday, early. I hope it's a great one." She ran off towards the other end of the park and Kyoya slowly got into the limousine. He ran a finger over the small charm and Tachibana asked him if he'd like him to find a chain to put it on.

"Yes please Tachibana, something simple yet sturdy if you please. I don't want to lose it."


	2. Chapter 1: The Hair Clip

**Chapter 1: The hair clip (by Serina)**

* * *

The silver morning light gently veneered the gloom inside the well furnished room of Kyoya Ootori, covering, concealing and hiding the peculiar yearning thirst, injected in the air, with cheerfulness and lighthearted mood. Mornings were never cheerful. He hated them. He hated the maids who woke him up, he hated everyone around and the whole world. His throbbing head, tired eyes and aching body hated mornings with all their might. This particular morning was no exception, and when he opened his eyes, he really wished the world to disappear forever and for him to sleep more. Forcing himself out of the bed, Kyoya rubbed his temples and tried to open his eyes, adjusting to the light in the room that had penetrated through the curtained windows. Maybe new curtains would do a better job at keeping the annoying morning light away from his tender eyes.

He knew he wouldn't be awake if he didn't take a good, cold shower. Mornings seemed even more disgusting, now that he thought of having a cold shower. He had known he would feel like this last night, unfortunately, he couldn't help but stay up and finish some of his work relating to the club. It has been a while since he started a host club with his classmate Tamaki Suoh, a rather eccentric and obnoxious idiot, who he happened to feel connected to, regardless of the guy's antics. The club had a lot of financial problems that he needed to solve, thanks to the extravagant products they bought to run the said club at Ouran High school.

Tamaki might have been a fool, but he was a convincing fool as he managed to get him and some other young men from school into his club, where he proclaimed himself a king. Kyoya found it amusing but it was a big entertainment in his rather dull life. Not to mention he met more people through the club and learnt about the children of different elite families than he would do any other way.

Every day he had to do the same mundane tasks and it made him feel demeaned and degraded, as if he was not a human being but some robot, some unimportant machine that should follow a certain pattern and didn't have the ability to be spontaneous. He got dressed, and and refusing to have breakfast, headed towards the car. Tachibana was already waiting and swiftly opened the door for him. Getting into the car, he leaned against the soft squab of the seat. He sighed, feeling a mild pain in his back, and opened his notebook. The school files should have been updated. He heard a new honour student had been accepted to Ouran. He wondered who had the nerve to study that hard, not to mention all the pressure and difficulty of going the same school with aristocratic, rich kids. How would the differences in social class seem to the commoner.

He rubbed his eyes again, before clicking on the school records file to access the list. Looking at the admission date, he found the new student; Haruhi Fujioka. The small photograph in the file showed a beautiful girl with big brown eyes. Kyoya honestly expected a guy not a girl. He quickly glanced over her information and closed the computer. She was in the same class with the Hitachiin twins. She didn't seem important enough for him to bother to investigate any further, but he could perhaps ask about her if he wanted.

Haruhi, she had the same name as _her_ , the pretty girl he used to play with. Involuntarily a smile graced his lips and he closed his eyes praying for more memories of her from his mind. He didn't know why he clung so much to those memories, but they warmed his heart and put him at ease whenever he felt nervous. It was silly to think about someone who was lost in his past so long ago, but he wanted to think about her. He wanted it as if it was some medicine to cure the anxiety and fears that were poisoning him.

He wanted to find her. But he only knew her name and nothing else. If only he had something else, some clue, he would try to find her, but searching her now was realistically impossible. There were too many Haruhis in Japan, not to mention she could have been from a different country and even though Ootori family had the best police forces, Kyoya knew, finding her was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but that needle was the key to opening the door to the happiness imprisoned in his soul.

The car stopped and Kyoya knew that they parked in front of the school. He didn't bother to wait for Tachibana to open the door for him. Getting out of the car and taking his schoolbag and computer, he slowly walked towards the school.

It was warm and bright, but not exactly sunny. Kyoya thought the weather was strange. Maybe it would rain today. Rainy days made him moody, he felt more lonely and longed for someone's company and he knew he wouldn't be able to ask anyone to sit around with him, which made him even moodier than he was. She didn't like rainy days either. He remembered how once they were playing in the park and the first drops of rain made her panic and curl in a corner. He remembered how he found her crawling inside a small hut in the park, covering her face. He has hated rainy days since that day and he has always wanted someone's company since that day. Holding her hand in the small hut and sitting next to her while it was raining outside was his favourite childhood memory.

He sighed again frustrated that he missed her or rather his over-glorified idea of her every day even more. Suddenly someone barged out of corner, bumping into his chest and stumbling backwards and falling on the ground. A small expression of disgust appeared on Kyoya's face when he looked at the rude oaf who bumped him. He had an awful haircut, horribly unfitting clothes and huge glasses. He was on the ground collected his belongings that were knocked all over the ground because of the contact. The guy looked at him timidly and bowing apologized. He looked really intimidated and Kyoya found it amusing. He wanted to accept his apology and say he hoped it wouldn't happen again, but the little rude thing bowed again and ran away towards the school.

Kyoya stood there completely puzzled and shocked and then snorted angrily. Who was that obnoxious, clumsy oaf!? He wanted to leave too, but noticed a small hairpin on the ground. He tentatively knelt and took the small clip and carefully looked at it. It just fell from the person's bag. He wanted to go after the guy and give it back to him and question why he was carrying female stuff with him, when he heard a familiar voice.

"Kyoya," it was Tamaki, "wait for me."

Kyoya rolled his eyes and then turned to face the blonde idiot.

"Good morning, Tamaki," he greeted him with a polite smile.

Tamaki, reaching Kyoya, threw his arms around his neck, as if he was some toy and dragged with him. Kyoya had to put extra effort to get rid of his embrace. The blonde beamed at him blabbering about something, that Kyoya felt he couldn't listen to just right in the morning, but eventually started to, after Tamaki decided to ask him questions and demand his opinion.

As they entered the school, Kyoya noticed the little thing that bumped into him minutes ago. His eyes glinted with interest and he told Tamaki he had something important to do before the class and walked over to the guy.

The boy was trying to find something in his backpack, because he was sitting in the corner and rolling the old bag around, shaking it, as if hoping something would fall down.

"Did you lose something?" Kyoya asked smoothly, pushing his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

He looked up at him a little surprised and baffled and dumbly nodded.

"My mother's hairpin," he said in a soft voice.

Kyoya frowned. This guy's voice was so soft, it sounded as if he was a girl. He took out the pin from his pocket and held it up.

"Are you speaking about this?" he asked with a smirk.

Seeing the pin in his hands, the person jumped up and tried to snatch it away, but Kyoya managed to lift it higher and hold out of his reach. He let out a small chuckle, seeing his confused and horrified face.

"I'd think I deserve a small 'thank you' for bringing this here to you," he said, locking his eyes with the guy. He couldn't really see his eyes behind those ugly huge glasses, but he supposed eye contact was a good way to intimidate one, even when it wasn't exactly direct. And he was right, because his stern stare made the guy to back up a little and look at him cautiously.

"Thank you," he said with a bow, "would you give it to me. It's very important for me. It belonged to my mother and I don't want to lose it."

Kyoya snorted and rolled his eyes. Such dramatism, this guy was worse than Tamaki. It was just an old pin. His mother wouldn't kill him for losing it. He handed him the pin and wanted to ask what he was doing in Ouran when one of the teachers approached him.

"Fujioka-san, did you bring your medical record from your old school, we need to put it in your files," the teacher said, looking at the guy.

Fujioka-san? Kyoya's mind quickly assembled all the information he gathered. Feminine voice, small body, girly things. It was the new scholarship student, Fujioka Haruhi.

She looked like a hurricane passed over her. The girl in the files looked really pretty. He wanted to ask her a question, but she disappeared with the teacher. Something was not right about this girl. She seemed so out of ordinary and his curiosity was piqued. He wanted to know more about this girl now. He looked after her leaving figure and his lips curled into a small smile.

* * *

She was absolutely baffled with the strange school. She needed perfect grades to be able to enter this school and she had perfect grades. Studying day and night to get the scholarship and be able to attend Ouran to make her dreams come true, to make the promise she gave to herself, after her mother left, to come true. But something wasn't adding up in her mind. If this school was so hard to get into, then why did all of these kids look like total morons. The libraries were turned into beauty salons or pastry restaurants. The girls she was sitting next to were chatting so loudly about some dude named Tamaki with such exclamations and fainting noises that she couldn't concentrate on her book.

 _"Mother in heaven, what did I get myself into,"_ she mumbled inwardly.

How had any of these students been accepted? Or did the school require just poor commoners to study? The rich bastards were supposed to have fun and feel like it was one of their vacations. She wanted to get into a good university and supposedly studying at Ouran would give her that opportunity, but glancing around at the pink walls and over the top baroque design of this school, she doubted anything she had read about the school could possibly be true.

The girls were getting louder and louder, and Haruhi wanted to stab her ears for listening to the amount of nonsense that was coming from the mouths of these self-proclaimed princesses. One of the girls suddenly looked at her and curled her lips in annoyance. Haruhi tried to smile at her out of politeness, but it seemed to irritate the girl even more, because she threw her long braided hair in Haruhi's face and stuck her nose up.

Haruhi rolled her eyes and sighed. All of these rich people were weird. That guy from earlier that morning came to her mind. What a jerk he was! Her heart started to beat rapidly at the thought of losing the hair-clip. Her mom had attached it to her hair just before dying. It was the last gift from her and she had always cherished it. Rich people like him wouldn't understand such things. She rubbed her palms and an image of a boy appeared in her mind. She didn't know who the boy was but she thought about him frequently. Very small fragments, dim images of his face, her sitting with him in some strange place holding hands, would come to her mind.

After her mother's death, she had a horrible breakdown and as a result of severe traumatic experience lost some of her memories. There were small holes in her mind. So slight that it didn't bother her. She remembered everyone and everything eventually, except the boy. Doctors had said that the boy was not a real person, just a coping mechanism she had created in her mind to overcome her fears and pain and she should forget him. She tried to, but her mind refused to comply. She would remember his face, his laughter. She would remember them playing with each other. It bothered her that even after so many years her mind wouldn't settle and would occasionally bring up _him_.

She sighed and stood up. No way she was going to study while these airheads were chitchatting like loud crows. She took her bag, closed the books and stuck them inside it. Maybe she could find some abandoned spot in this 'castle'. Walking around, she soon found that all the libraries were occupied by obnoxious, noisy cows and there was no place to study, until she came across a very silent corridor. There was a beautiful big door and a sign on top of it, 'The music room 3'. It looked quiet. She looked around and found no one. Maybe she could find some comfortable spot and study. She tentatively approached the door and slowly opened it. For some reason the door made a screechy noise and Haruhi got more cautious. She didn't have a good feeling about this place.

She popped her head in to make sure it was safe to enter, and the bright light coming from the windows inside the room, nearly blinded her. She closed her eyes, and taking a deep breath, decided to risk and entered in. She blinked her eyes, trying to shoo away the bright, colourful dots that were flowing in front of her eyes because of the bright light. The room was empty. She sighed relieved. Finally some quiet place where she would study! She walked forward and noticed a big vase right in front of a door, solemnly sitting on top of a pedestal.

She scowled, seeing the blue vase and then ignoring it, walked to the sofas. Suddenly a low voice spoke and it made her shudder with the realization that she wasn't alone.

"We are not open yet," the voice said.

Haruhi could swear the person was an arrogant, condescending ass by how superior his tone sounded. She stopped in her tracks and looked in the direction where the voice came from. She couldn't see anyone; maybe she was just imagining things after being extremely tired of hearing mindless girl blabber. She shook her head and moved forward, but suddenly froze in place. The guy from the morning was sitting on the sofa, his legs were elegantly crossed, and he was typing something in the computer on his lap. He fixed his glasses and looked up at her.

"I said we are..." he paused and looked at her curiously, "oh, I didn't know the honour student had time for this."

She narrowed her eyes at him and puzzlement clouded her mind. What did he mean? Time for what? She stared at him a little taken aback and confused. He closed his computer, and putting it aside, stood up. His glasses glinted and light smirk appeared on his lips. She involuntarily bit her lower lip and made a step backwards. This caught his attention, because the smirk on his lips widened and became more emphasized.

"So," he mumbled huskily, "what is your type?"

Type? What was he speaking about? She had to back away, as he was getting closer and closer. Her cheeks flushed and she became nervous because of his advances. What was he doing? Why was he getting close? Her heart started to beat wildly.

"Well?" he smiled, leveling his head with hers and whispering gently.

Haruhi nearly choked, smelling his cologne and finding it absolutely alluring. A furious blush covered her face.

"I...um... ahh... I came to study..." she managed to mumble.

She felt a shiver pass through her body when he looked into her eyes. What was this idiot doing? Did he decide to give her a heart attack?

"Is that so?" he said, smothering a chuckle that threatened to escape his lips.

She wanted to respond, but suddenly he stepped so close that she panicked and stepped back too fast and hit something. She turned to see the stupid vase on the pedestal falling down. The Adrenalin rushed through her body and her brain realized the fall of the vase before it would get to the floor. She tried to catch it, but of course even though her brain was fast, her body wasn't so much. A loud smashing sound filled her eardrums and she had to close her eyes not to witness the scene in front of her. She knew it broke. She knew she was in trouble.

"You just broke a rune vase worth of 8,000,000 yen," his cold, somewhat lazy voice hit her ears like some hail on a sunny summer day.

"8 million yen," she stammered.

Cold sweat covered her body and she felt sick enough to faint. How much was it going to be if... She mentally started to count and her eyes widened. She looked at him and saw his cold stare.

"I will... pay," she said gulping.

"You will pay?" he laughed loudly and she looked at him with terror, "how are you going to pay if you came to school looking like this? It seems you are not even able to afford a uniform."

Annoying rich bastard! She clenched her grip. It wasn't her fault she bumped the stupid vase. Who puts a vase in the center of a stupid room! If he didn't pester her, she wouldn't even touch the damn thing.

"I will pay," she said firmly, not being able to stand the guy's patronizing gaze.

He smiled and crossed his arms. He looked at her for a moment and then his glasses flashed. She blinked and looked at him confused.

"Maybe, I can arrange it," he said with a smile, pushing his glasses up, "you are from now on my errand girl; until you pay your debt, you do as I say."

Her eyes widened at the way he smiled at her and she found herself unable to come up with a protest.

"I hope you don't plan on running away, honour student?" he said with a cheeky smile, "if you do, drop the idea. My family hires the best police force in the country. I will make sure they find you if you suddenly decide to disappear."

She couldn't put in words, how uneasy this dude made her feel. What was with his polite face and movements when he was basically treating her and forcing her into some slave-hood! She sighed frustrated.

 _"Mother in heaven there is a strange boy at school who just turned me into some errand girl,"_ she whined inwardly.

"Do you have a passport?" he asked, scanning her shocked face.

She hung her head. She had nothing else to do but to go along with this jerk's errands.

* * *

"Oh, it's Kyoya-kun," a small blonde boy jumped into the room accompanied by a very tall guy.

Haruhi had to cover her face as she tried not to cringe when she saw how they observed her and the floor, where the smashed vase lay.

"What happened here?" another person said walking in.

It was that annoying Hitachiin twin from her class, Hikaru Hitachiin. His twin entered in shortly after and four eyes looked sternly at her. She noticed how the jerk with glasses stood there in complete amusement and cheerfully scanned her face. She wanted to murder the guy.

"Let me introduce you Haruhi Fujioka, the honour stu..." he was cut off by the auburn haired boy.

"We know him," Hikaru said, "he is from our class. But doesn't talk to anyone at all, so we don't know anything about him. He is a strange guy."

Haruhi felt really violated that they would speak in her presence as if she wasn't even there. She noticed how the guy with glasses looked carefully at twins and the grin on his face widened.

" _He_ broke the vase we were going to put up for the auction ," he explained, "so, I offered my help."

Haruhi nearly snorted at the word 'help'. The bastard called it a help to force her into being his personal errand girl.

The twins looked at each other, exchanging a curious glance, and then looked at Haruhi. The tall guy hadn't said anything since he had entered the club. He just looked at her and sighed. Suddenly the short blonde boy jumped towards her, shoving the pink bunny he had into her hands.

"Does Haru-chan want to play with Usa-chan?" he asked.

She looked at the bunny and her eyes softened, but she was confused by the sudden action the little blonde did in giving her his stuffed toy, so she looked at him astonished and blinked her eyes. Suddenly the blonde's eyes widened and he looked at her with curiosity. Then he laughed and ran to the sofa.

"So, what are we going to do about the vase?" asked the Hitachiin twins.

"I will pay for the vase and the honour student will be my errand... _boy_ ," he turned and gave her an amused look, "basically he will run club related errands that I think should be done. "

Haruhi was already sweating with all the attention towards her. She was so shocked she didn't even ask what club he was talking about.

"Club?" she mumbled looking around lost.

"Host club," Kyoya explained, "we, a group of very elite students with too much time on our hands, are running a host club, entertaining girls who also have way too much time on their hands."

She had to rub her face to make sure she was actually standing there and wasn't hallucinating this nonsense.

"Oh, Kyoya, I am sorry I am late, I had to meet my grandmo..." a blonde guy with the most perfect face Haruhi ever saw stood there in front of her staring at her and the smashed vase.

"What happened here?" he asked confused, "who is this boy? A guest?"

He walked closer to her and she realized that she had no place to walk if she went backwards she would fall into the arms of the jerk with glasses, whose name was Kyoya.

Kyoya...

Such a familiar name. Where did she hear it? It was as if she knew someone named Kyoya and he was very important. She brushed off the idea, thinking it was her nerves playing tricks on her.

"The honour student broke the vase and now he is Kyoya's errand boy," Kaoru explained.

Tamaki's face brightened up and he jumped towards Haruhi, throwing his arms around her neck, "So, the honour student is into boys. So openly gay!" he screamed.

Gay? What was this blonde idiot screaming about? How was she gay? She pushed him away and glared at him with anger.

"Tamaki stop pestering my assistant," Kyoya smiled.

Assistant? And how many words was he going to come up with to sugar-coat the fact that she was trapped in 8 million yen debt because of him.

Tamaki put his fingers on his chin and looked at Haruhi thoughtfully.

"You know he is cute," he said, walking closer to Haruhi, "maybe, we could turn him into a host."

"Cute?" Hikaru scoffed, "what did you see there that you decided to call cute?"

Kyoya was so amused and he was silently following the exchange. Yes, the girl did look like a boy, even he got deceived, but how would twins not to know when they were in the same class with her.

"I don't like the fact that you are touching my assistant," he interfered again, throwing his arm around her neck, "unfortunately, today we can't run the club any longer. So, we will postpone the 'tea garden' cosplay until tomorrow. I have already made sure that the guests know about it."

Haruhi stood there paralyzed, scared to make any moves, as if she did, he would snap her head.

"I am sorry," he smiled again, "My assistant and I need to discuss his job specification and conditions."

He dragged her with him out of the room, leaving everyone behind a little puzzled.

* * *

A/N-hi dear readers. This is Serina and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I hope it is as enjoyable to read this work Tigyr and I write, as it is for us to write it. We have decided to do one chapter-Tigyr, one chapter-Serina type of writing and as you can see it has wild promises. I personally can't wait to see what will happen next chapter which will be written by Tigyr.

Tigyr, update soon ;) lol


	3. Chapter 2: Specifications and what?

**_A/N: So, I'm working on this collaborative story with a friend, and some nice, friendly troll, aka soul-sucking, writer-bullying, piece of crap guest(s) keeps flaming not me or the story but my co-author. My words to the person or persons doing this...SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP, the story will go on and I am keeping Serina Bardon as my co-author_.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Specifications and what?** (written by Tigyr)

* * *

As Kyoya dragged her out of the room, Haruhi could hear the rest of the club members starting to question Tamaki about Kyoya's unexpected behavior towards her.

"What's going on, Boss?" That was both twins asking, she was almost certain of it.

"Tama-chan, are we really going to make Haruhi a host?" The excitement in Honey-senpai's voice almost made her smile.

"I've got it!" They could hear what sounded like a finger snap, then the doors shut and Kyoya led Haruhi to the room right next door. Before she could do anything, Kyoya thrust her inside and then placed a finger over her lips.

"Shh, I want to hear what the blonde idiot has planned for you."

Haruhi pressed close to the wall, trying to listen to Tamaki without much success, and all the while studying the boy in front of her. As she'd previously noticed, he was tall, but not as tall as the one that had accompanied Honey-senpai. His glasses kept slipping down his aristocratical nose, and he would absently push them back up again as he listened to the conversation on the other side of the wall. His dark hair was neatly combed, and she could almost see the faint impression of a chain on the inside of his shirt.

"Finished observing yet?" He drawled, as he led her away from the wall and towards one of the few desks that was in the room.

"Did you find out what he has planned?" she asked by way of answer and he nodded.

"Yes, I'm expecting a text any minute now asking me to make sure we get his hairstylist in here just before club starts. I'll message our guests and tell them that club will start about half an hour later than usual. As it's in your benefit, I won't charge you for the half hour of profits that we will incur."

"That's nice of you," she starts to say, when he interrupts her.

"However, I will have to charge you for the new uniforms we're having made for you. The Hitachiin twins will take care of that part at least."

"What about the other two, Honey-senpai and what's his name again?"

A text message interrupted what he had planned on saying next and he grunted softly as he read the words.

"That was Mori-senpai, he's been dispatched with getting some new eye contacts for you. I don't suppose you have your prescription available do you? Never mind, I'll just look it up. In the meantime, as I was saying the school uniform is 300,000 yen."

"At this rate, I'll never be out of your debt." She muttered and shrank a little bit when he smirked at her.

"Hmm, yes that is a bit of a reach especially for a commoner like yourself. Unless,"

"Unless what?" she asked warily.

His eyes, what little she could see of them through his glasses were a dark shade of gray and they crinkled with mirth.

"So far, only you, myself and Honey-senpai know that you're a girl. I propose we keep it that way as long as we can."

"Okay," she wasn't sure she liked where his train of thought was leading her.

"How would you like to decrease your debt starting tomorrow?"

"Doing what exactly?" She thought for a moment that she saw the calculations running across his forehead.

He smirked and she could almost swear that he could read her mind.

"Not exactly your mind, more like your body language. I'm a bit more proficient than most, but anyway, I digress. As a member of the club, we all have certain clients."

"Is this why you were asking about what type I prefer? What exactly are the types or do I really want to know?"

Kyoya grinned at her and proceeded to tell her about the blonde haired Prince, Tamaki Suoh. "He is the founder of the club and as such the club's president. He's quite popular with a 70 percent request rate. I am Kyoya Ootori, club vice-president. I am in charge of all finances."

"Imagine that," she thought sarcastically.

"And then we have Honey-senpai, the cute one also known as a boy lolita. His full name is Mitsukuni Haninozuka and his cousin, Mori-senpai, Takashi Morinozuka, is the strong yet silent type."

"Let me guess, you're the devilish type?" Her sarcasm brought a faint smirk to his face, and a negative shake to his head.

"Actually, that particular designation belongs to the Hitachiins."

"Funny, I'd have thought that fit you more than it does them."

"Hmm, I would ordinarily agree with you, but apparently I , as you so charmingly put it, fit the bill as the "cool" type."

"According to what manga?" she clapped her hands over her mouth as he gave a wicked chuckle.

"Now that you know all that, it's time to figure out just what your duties will be. Normally I would just send a servant out to get supplies, however, as you are now that particular person, I will just send you a text of what we need and you can pick them up on your way."

"You do realize I don't get a very big allowance don't you?" She was mentally trying to figure out what sort of things a host club could need.

"You'll be earning as you go, providing of course you can get enough customers. I think we should start out at ...hang on." His phone went off yet again and she could sense his impatience at the constant interruptions. This was the 'cool' type?

"Nix that idea, his highness says he wants you to get 100 requests." He said as he completed the call.

"But you're the one I'm indebted to, shouldn't that be your decision? And how are you going to send me a text message? You should realize that I don't have a cell phone." She should have known that her protests would fall on deaf ears.

"You will by tomorrow's club, and as it's a necessity, I will not be adding it to your debt. Unfortunately the uniform will have to be added as you should have made allowances for said uniform when you decided to attend Ouran."

Haruhi could have argued with him but knew by now that it would be an effort in futility. He would just find another way to tack the debt onto her and she was trying hard not to panic in regards to the 8 million let alone another 300, 000. She hung her head as she listened to the list of demands or what sounded like normal, mundane, everyday chores that she would be doing.

Kyoya had been watching her as he spoke, waiting for any kind of reaction. He knew that he was being a bit over the top in regards to the vase; he wasn't known for his kindness after all, but for some reason he was actually quite curious about the girl in front of him. He sighed as his phone rang, but this time, due to the lack of a fancy ringtone he knew it wasn't the club.

"I'm busy, can't it wait?" He knew that he sounded more than a bit irritated, but Tachibana had been with him long enough to overlook Kyoya's moods.

"My apologies, Master Kyoya, but your mother just rang and said to remind you about the family dinner tonight. She had tried to reach you earlier but your phone was busy. I will be arriving at the school within five minutes."

Kyoya glared at the innocent phone as Tachibana hung up.

"Umm, Kyoya-senpai, you had started to mention something about reducing my debt." She picked up her bag of books and waited for his reply.

"Hmm, yes, let's talk on our way out. I have something to discuss with you regarding Tamaki."

He picked up his notebook and laptop and led her to the door.

"Okay ?"

"As you may have heard we have a cosplay going on tomorrow. How would you like to kill 100 yen an hour between now and the end of the week?"

"Doing what exactly?"

"Keeping your identity secret from our blonde king of course."

She stopped temporarily and stared at him in disbelief, "What about the other hosts? I mean, you and Honey-senpai know, but what about Mori-senpai and the twins?"

"None of them are as dense as Tamaki is." He stated flatly and put a firm hand on her back as they descended the staircase.

"Make it a 1000. I have a school uniform to pay off too you know."

He raised an eyebrow at her audacity, then nodded slowly, "Very well but now you only have the hours between the time school starts and host club ends."

"So, basically I can kill 8000 yen a day if I can keep that obnoxious person from finding out about me?"

"Essentially yes, I'll call you later to fill you in on more details."

As he escorted her to the front of the school he could see the rest of the club waiting for them and he grinned as he thought of the ways he could manipulate things even further.

"I'll have to take my leave now, Haruhi. Have a pleasant evening."

Tachibana held the door of the limousine open for him and he slid inside. He didn't notice Tachibana stiffen in surprise as the bodyguard looked at the "boys" gathered outside the school. Kyoya rolled the window down, but before he could say anything, Tachibana slipped into the front seat and they drove away.

"Master Kyoya, was that a new student that I saw with your friends?" Tachibana's question would have normally raised an eyebrow, or even a suspicious look, but Kyoya was preoccupied with making out the list of demands he was going to have Haruhi do, to pay much attention to the bodyguard's inquiry.

"Mm? Oh, yes that's Haruhi Fujioka. She just transferred in as the school's new honor student. Did mother say anything specific about tonight's dinner?"

Tachibana didn't immediately reply, but a clearing of Kyoya's throat, brought the man's attention back to his master. "Only that the entire family including your brothers and their wives will be there."

"Oh wonderful." Kyoya's expression darkened as he imagined the night ahead. He bowed his head, gave a silent curse in regards to that evening's meal and continued his plans for Haruhi until they arrived at the family estate.

* * *

"So, my dear little honor student, did Kyoya explain that as of today, you'll be a host?" Tamaki glided towards her as he asked the question.

"Actually he told me it would be effective tomorrow." Haruhi replied as she tried to inch away from Tamaki.

"Be that as it may, you need to know that we cater to the finest young ladies that Ouran has to offer. Did Kyoya explain to you the different designations? We have moi the princely type, Kyoya as the cool type, Honey-senpai-"

"He already told me all this, but why are the twins labeled as the devil type? I'd think that Kyoya-senpai would be much better at it." Her interruption made Tamaki hide in the corner, and she could swear that she saw mushrooms growing immediately in front of him.

"That's because the boss doesn't like our sense of humor some days," it's Hikaru and then Kaoru chimed in,"Usually because it's directed at him." They chuckle evilly and Haruhi could finally see why they were called devils. They stared at Haruhi and she fidgeted uneasily.

"Kyoya-senpai said we had to get you a new uniform," it was Kaoru speaking first this time and the other guys nodded in agreement.

"Guess that means we need to get your measurements." Hikaru eyed her up and down as if calculating her size in his mind. They both pulled out measuring tapes and within seconds they were finished. Before she could say anything to either of them, they cocked their heads together as if trying to figure something out.

"We'll have it ready by tomorrow morning," they said together as their limo drove up.

"Haru-chan, Takashi and I have to leave now too, but we'll see you tomorrow, 'kay?" Honey-senpai's question made her remember something that Kyoya had told her about her newest role at Ouran.

"Wait a minute, Mori-senpai!"

The tall dark haired man turned towards her in question and she handed him a piece of paper.

"Kyoya-senpai said you would need my doctor's information, regarding new contact lenses. I hope this will help."

"Thank you." He patted her on the head, slid into the limousine beside Haninozuka and she was left alone with the blonde haired Tamaki.

"Senpai? It's time for me to go. Are you going to stay in the corner until your limo finally shows up?" Her question brought him back to his feet and he made ask if he wanted hug her but she dodged and put a concrete post between them.

He tried one more time to tell her about the club and it's activities, but she started walking the other direction.

"See you tomorrow then." she stated as his limo pulled up to the curb.

She waited until the car had disappeared around the corner, before finally letting out a long sigh. "Dear Mother in Heaven, I've gone from errand girl to the host in this weird club in the space of two hours. What is this world coming to?"

* * *

Inside the Hitachiin limousine, Kaoru looked at his twin and asked, "Hey, Hikaru, did that Fujioka fellow seem a bit off to you?"

Hikaru nodded as he sent their mother a text informing her of their intended arrival time and the measurements that they would need for Haruhi's uniform.

"Yeah, it's almost as if," he stared at his twin as Kaoru finished the sentence, "we were dressing a girl."

"Oh, this is going to be fun." They said together and chuckled as their car pulled into their driveway.

* * *

Kyoya smiled mirthlessly as he finished getting dressed for dinner. Family gatherings tended to be on the bad side, and he slipped the chain around his neck, needing its familiar weight to help him get through the next few hours. He pulled out his cell phone and sent a text to the Hitachiin twins asking them to get a cell phone for Haruhi. He then went over to his laptop and pulled up Haruhi's contact information. Kyoya intended to call Haruhi's father and get more information from the man as he had a feeling that Haruhi would be like himself, not trusting many people and therefore not forthcoming with valuable information . It could be considered underhanded, but he could live with that if it meant that he could keep tabs on a certain brown-eyed female.

He descended the staircase and entered the family's dining area. He concealed a sigh as he noticed that most of the family was already there, with the exception of his father and mother. Knowing that the family patriarch and his wife will be intentionally late, Kyoya could swear it was just to agitate the siblings more, Kyoya slid into his chair and proceeded to ignore his brothers and sisters-in-law. His sister Fuyumi sat down next to him and politely asked him about his day. He was about to give her his standard reply when he noticed her staring at the chain around his neck. He hid it under his shirt again, and she smiled at him.

"You still miss her don't you?" Her whispered question made him blink at her in surprise. He nodded as he silently questioned how she could possibly know about his friend.

"You smiled more when she was still active in your life. You can always come and talk to me about her if you want to. It's not like I'm going to tell anyone about it."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow, "There is nothing to talk about. She's someone in the past." He whispered back to her. Fuyumi said nothing more, and their parents arrived a few minutes later ending that particular conversation.

* * *

Mitsukuni Haninozuka kept his smile on his face and in his voice until they'd finished eating, then retired to his room. He was wondering why Haruhi Fujioka was masquerading as a boy, and then he wondered why Kyoya was insisting on her being an errand boy. The vase had been valuable, that wasn't the issue, it was the fact that Kyoya was not only going to pay for the vase, but then intended to have Haruhi work at the club to pay off the debt. He wasn't sure just what was going on, but he would trust Kyoya to explain things in greater detail to them later. A text message from his cousin Takashi made him smile. He had great faith in Takashi and knew that the younger man would soon figure out Haruhi's identity and then they could discuss how to integrate her into their realm of martial arts.

* * *

With the final text messages from the twins and Mori-senpai, Kyoya knew it was only a matter of hours before Haruhi would be transformed into the newest host. He excused himself from joining the others for evening drinks, stating homework for the reason.

Fuyumi watched him go, wondering if she'd ever find out just what had happened all those years ago. He had been almost happy for a few months that summer ten years ago, and then, he'd started going to Ouran Elementary School, being compared to their older siblings and his demeanor had gotten darker since then.

Today however, she could have sworn that she'd seen something different in him. For a brief moment, he had been smiling. Not a fake or "host" smile that he used whenever in the same room with their family, but a teeny, tiny genuine smile. Then he'd remembered where he was and the smile had dissipated.

"Mistress, may I escort you to your vehicle?" It was Tachibana, Kyoya's personal bodyguard. She nodded and allowed him to walk her to her car. As he opened the door for her he muttered, "She's back" and shut the door as he stepped back to the curb. Fuyumi stared at him as she was chauffeured away, wondering if she'd heard him correctly.


	4. Chapter 3: I Quit

**Chapter 3: I quit (by Serina)**

* * *

The air was cool in the morning, and Haruhi had to wear an extra jacket over her uniform. She looked at herself in the mirror and scowled. She had just received a message from the rich jerk who forced her into that host club nonsense. All of those boys were just bunch of obnoxious fools, who had nothing better to do with their time, and were too selfish to understand that some people had to work hard to attend school. She grabbed her bag and ran out of the house without having breakfast. She was late for some stupid thing, and the guy with glasses threatened her in a message that he would raise her debt, if she wouldn't show up at the exact time.

The bus stop was full, and Haruhi had to stand, waiting for the stupid bus to arrive. After entering that damned music room she was extremely irritated by everything. It wasn't her fault the vase broke; technically she didn't do anything. She had been forced back when that rich bastard impolitely entered her personal space. She stepped back and the vase fell. Why is that everyone blamed her for breaking it? She didn't want to put up with it. It was not fair. No! No way she was going to pay for something that wasn't her fault.

Errand boy! What else did he wish for!? That guy was a devil. No matter what the others were designated, in her eyes Kyoya Ootori was the devil type.

She sighed and angrily rubbed her head, disheveling her short-cut, brown hair. What was she supposed to do? What would have been the most logical thing to do? Go to the club and announce that she no way was going to work there and be anyone's errand boy or girl. She smiled and nodded to herself.

"That is right!" she said loudly, attracting bystander's attention, "I did nothing wrong, and that jerk shouldn't violate my rights. I came to Ouran to study, not entertain some rich clowns."

People looked at her with surprise and some of them even smiled, thinking something was not right with her, if she was conversing with herself. She looked around and rolled her eyes. So what? She didn't care if people thought she was crazy; it was more important that she knew she wasn't, and that was all that mattered.

She noticed a fair-haired, tall man in a business suit, who attentively looked at her and nervously flipped a pen in his hand. When their eyes met, the man looked away and then walked to a car on the corner. Haruhi looked at him for a moment and then her bus arrived and she had to run to catch it. Her life became an absolute disaster after she entered that school.

She knew she was late when the bus stopped at the school. She also knew that she wasn't supposed to follow that idiot's orders. Just who did he think he was? She didn't have any obligation to come earlier and do anything for him. She decided that today she would put an end to this mistake and never ever bear a moment with any of those guys. Too bad the twins were in her class. That is until she felt someone put their hand on her shoulder.

"You are late, Haruhi," it was Kyoya Ootori.

She turned to him and looked angrily into his eyes that were hiding behind his glasses, "Am I?" she mumbled confused when he stared back into her eyes.

"You are," he smiled politely, but she could see that hidden nasty note in his voice.

"Haruhi, tell him!," she mumbled inwardly," tell him you are not going to pay for any vase because it's not your fault."

She already wanted to open her mouth, when the Ootori guy dragged her with him to the school. She didn't even know if she was supposed to push him away or follow him. She had to walk faster, because the guy had longer legs and his steps were too big compared to hers.

"Wait a second!" she yelled, trying to get rid of his hold.

He stopped and looked at her puzzled. Apparently he didn't expect that kind of reaction. She looked at him again and couldn't stop noting that the jerk looked good. No wonder girls were squealing around them.

"Yes," he quirked an eyebrow, and straightening his posture, looked at her.

Haruhi felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze and stepped backwards. He didn't look that intimidating! What was wrong with her? If anything his face was cute.

"I have things to tell you," she started carefully, tilting her chin up and looking at him under her eyelashes.

"What?" he questioned her and she could swear he wasn't really interested to know.

She looked at him for another second and he grabbed her hand and pulled her with him.

"Will talk about it in the club," he said, "we need to prepare the room for today's cosplay of tropical paradise and we have no time."

Haruhi reluctantly walked with him; she had planned a lot to say and she thought it was best to do it in private without greedy ears of gossipers. She had to run up all of those stupid stairs and when they finally reached to the door of the third Music Room, she had to stop for a moment, hug her knees and catch her breath.

Kyoya Ootori looked at her with expressionlessly and sighed loudly. Haruhi decided the guy was annoyed with her for the break and shot a nasty glare to his direction. What did she do to deserve this? Why were there so many idiots around her? Seeing how irritated the guy got, Haruhi stood up, letting out a frustrated sigh and, walked into the room, leaving behind the handsome third Ootori son.

She needed to tell him what she decided. No way she was going to live like this. She didn't come to this school to have fun or play games with rich, careless boys. She had goals and she needed to dedicate her time to education. When she heard the door close behind her, a cold shiver passed through her body and she turned to look at the Ootori, who was wearing that smug smile on his face. She narrowed her eyes. She wanted to claw out his eyes. Idiot!

"Bring the costume boxes from the storage room. I have ordered exotic trees and they will arrive any minute, make sure to get some room for them moving the tables and sofas," he said casually and walked towards the sofa in the corner.

Haruhi couldn't believe her eyes. He wanted her to sweat like some horse. She rolled her eyes and strode to him. He suddenly stopped and turned to face her. This startled Haruhi, so much that she stepped backwards, then struggled to steady herself. She lost her balance and grabbed at the nearest stand. A vial that was on top of it fell down and broke.

"Seems like you are adding some more work for me to do," Kyoya sighed, disapprovingly looking at the liquid smeared on the floor, "that was an expensive exotic oil. I will add it to your debt."

"Why the heck do you keep an expensive, exotic oil in a damn host club?" she screamed and Kyoya looked at her confused, "is this some kind of massage salon for you? No! Wait! I don't want to know."

She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Kyoya stared at her in utter shock. Who did this girl think she was to yell at him like that?

"I think you don't understand-" he started, but was quickly interrupted by Haruhi.

"It's you who doesn't understand" she said, glaring at him, "Why should I pay you anything? Or even be here?"

"Because you broke the vase and I payed for it," he explained politely.

"Really?" she mocked, "how generous of you! I never asked you to pay for anything and I am not accepting the fact that you expect me to pay for that useless vase. It's your fault the vase broke. And how do I even know it was an expensive vase not some cheap copy, but even if it was the most expensive thing in the world I am not going to pay for something that fell down because you pushed me towards it. If anything you owe me a compensation for the torture I had endured yesterday, while you turned me into this," she gestured her hair and clothes.

Kyoya Ootori didn't know what to say. Was she serious?

"... and if you bug me, I will complain to the school disciplinary board," she continued, "don't think I am some idiot, you can use as an errand dog. I came here to study not bend my head to your whims. So pay for your stupid vase if you wish. I am leaving."

She turned to walk away and Kyoya looked at her dumbfounded. He felt so Tamaki-like that it made him really puzzled. He suddenly realized that she was walking.

"Wait!" he called and jumped forward to hold her back.

Suddenly he lost his balance stepping on the oily ground and grabbing her hand pulled her closer. But not being able to steady himself, he stumbled forward and pushed her down, falling on top of her. Kyoya Ootori had never had this kind of awkward situation in his life. He stumbling and falling down in front of another person and no more no less right on top of them. With confusion he realized that she was really soft and her body felt warm. Then he realized that his lips were glued to the girl lying right under him. He jumped up and they both stared at each other awkwardly rubbing their lips.

"I am sorry," he mumbled, looking away.

This was too embarrassing. He stood up and offered her his hand. She tentatively looked at him, her cheeks were flushed a very attractive pink and she was breathing hard, but she accepted his hand.

"Well," she said, looking away, "we are even. I pushed down your vase and you pushed me."

"What!?" he looked at the girl perplexed.

She had just been kissed and that was the first thing she wanted to say? Now, he was really curious about her. She was not like everyone else. She was so crazily different.

"Have a good day," she waved her hand and grabbed her bag to leave.

Kyoya looked after her. He didn't have any plans on how to act and he felt a small twinge of hate that she made him so powerless and lost. Who was this girl? And what did she just do? Maybe he should have left her alone. After all, she didn't seem normal. He was a perfect student and she could go around and tell people he forced her to join the host club against her will. That could be an inconvenience. He frowned. He needed to talk to this girl and make sure she understood she was not leaving without paying her debt.

He walked out of the room and saw her running down the stairs. This girl was a headache. He walked after her quickly, trying to catch up. When she turned into the corridor, he turned right after her and grabbed her hand, forcing her to stop .

"What are you doing?" Haruhi asked surprised.

"Isn't that obvious?" he asked coolly, "I am trying to catch a criminal, who wants to run away without paying for the damages."

Haruhi jerked away her hand and looked at him carefully. She should have known this guy would not let her go that easily. She sighed.

"If, instead of that vase there had been a sharp blade on that pedestal and I had walked into it while you were walking over me, entering my personal space without permission, if I had walked back and fallen on that blade and died., do you think I would be charged with accidental property damage, or you would be charged with accidental manslaughter?"

"What are you talking about?" Kyoya demanded already confused.

"Because it seems like if I was hurt it would have been your fault, Since it was not a knife or sharp blade but instead a vase was broken, it's completely my fault? I disagree," she explained, "at the time I said I will pay, I was really shocked because of your unwanted advances. So why don't we count what just happened as agreement and settlement."

"Oh," Kyoya said suddenly with a nasty smile, "do you think the police would agree with you, if we try to settle this like that?"

"Are you trying to intimidate me?" she asked, rising up her eyebrows.

"Think of it as you wish," he offered, "I don't like to be manipulated like this by you regardless."

She looked at him for a long moment. She didn't have time for things like this.

"How about I work in your club for 3 months," she said suddenly.

"Four," he said, offering his hand for a shake.

"Deal," she said shaking his hand, "but I am not working on my exam days."

She looked at him awkwardly. Something about this guy seemed so familiar, and she didn't know what it was. Did she meet him before? She shook her head. Of course, she didn't, how could she have met him and not remember?

"Now come with me," he said, "you should help me to set things up before the school starts."

She let out a frustrated sigh and followed him.

"About what happened earlier," he suddenly said, "I apologize."

"Are you apologizing for kissing me," she asked bluntly.

Kyoya looked at her clearly irritated by her straightforwardness, "I am apologizing for landing on top of you and touching your lips with mine, if you want to be technical, that hardly could count as a kiss."

"It was not a kiss?" she said thoughtfully, clearly not paying attention that she was contemplating about it not only out loud but also in his presence, "maybe wasn't..."

Kyoya suddenly looked at her with a smirk, "I could definitely show you the difference."

She turned bright red, and a furious blush colored her cheeks and she looked away clearly embarrassed. This Ootori looked so... She had to stop thinking about him.

"Get a grip, Haruhi," she whispered to herself.

"Thank you very much," she yelled, "you are not my type and it doesn't really matter, I don't care about kisses and all that nonsense. There are more important things in this world than your useless skills of kissing."

He laughed quietly amused. She was affected by him alright. She pretended she was not, but he knew she was. This little commoner was really extraordinary. She was unusual. Maybe his club hours wouldn't be as boring anymore. With that thought he entered the Third Music Room with Haruhi Fujioka, the newest host of the host club.


	5. Chapter 4: Oops he did it again

As they entered the third music room, Kyoya motioned towards the oil spill and Haruhi knew that he wanted her to clean it up before they received any guests for the day. She headed to the storage room and looked around for a mop and bucket.

"What are you doing Haruhi?"

"Hot soapy water to clean up the spill, what do you think I'm doing?" she asked in return.

"Wait a moment, I need to look something up." As he opened his laptop and started typing, Haruhi took the time to finish looking for cleaning supplies.

"Hmm, we already have the oil on the floor, therefore a mixture of vinegar, alcohol, and soapy water should do it." He printed off the recipe and handed it to Haruhi, who sighed.

"I'm not going to have time to get this before school starts." She said and Kyoya nodded in agreement.

"True. I'll have Tachibana bring us the supplies before club starts, in the meantime, try using a bit of soap and water for now. We'll have the rest of it just in case."

"Wait, we have home economics classes and a first aid kit." She was mumbling, but he instantly knew what she had in mind.

"I will go talk to the school nurses and you go talk to the home economics teachers." He suggested and she nodded. For the first time since they had met, they smiled at each other and neither could identify the feeling that created within them.

OHSHC

As Kyoya waited for Haruhi to leave the room, he pulled out his cell phone and hit the speed dial for Tachibana.

"Yes, Master Kyoya?" Tachibana's voice sounded as if he was in a vehicle and Kyoya asked him what he was doing.

"You said that you were expecting a slightly larger crowd today, due to the theme. I was picking up some extra supplies for you, sir."

Kyoya smiled at his driver's reply before he said, "I need you to pick up a few additional items. I have a feeling we're going to need them from now on."

Tachibana had stopped the car when the phone rang, and he pulled out a pen and his shopping list as Kyoya read off his requests. He frowned a bit when he heard exactly what his young master was demanding, but said nothing. Instead, he waited until Kyoya was finished before he asked, "Will there be anything else sir?"

Kyoya blinked and rubbed his eyes. As he did so, he slipped yet again on the oily mess and he hit his head on the stand that the vial had been on. Haruhi entered the room at the same time, her arms full of supplies.

"Senpai, I managed to get both the alcohol and the dish soap. They also gave me some sponges and a small - SENPAI!"

Tachibana had still been on the phone waiting for Kyoya's final reply and he turned the car around when he heard Haruhi's small scream.

"Who's there? What happened to Master Kyoya? Can you hear me?" Tachibana didn't believe in panicking, but he still wanted some reassurance that his master was okay.

"What?" Haruhi could hear the disjointed voice and followed it to the cell phone lying next to Kyoya's left arm.

"This is Tachibana, I'm Master Kyoya's bodyguard. Is my master all right?" Tachibana was speeding back to Ouran, as he waited for Haruhi to respond.

"Senpai, can you hear me?" Haruhi had calmed down, but there was still a sense of urgency in her voice.

"Miss, miss, can you hear me miss? This is Tachibana, what happened?"

Haruhi lightly touched Kyoya on the face. He moaned and turned his head towards her. She could see the lump near his temple and carefully brushed the hair away to make sure that he wasn't bleeding.

"Miss, please miss what is happening?"

"Senpai hit his head on the corner of a table. He's knocked himself out; I don't know how bad it is though."

Tachibana pulled up to the school and dashed out of the vehicle. He ran all the way up the stairs and into the music room. Haruhi looked up as he entered the room and motioned him away from the mess on the floor.

"Stop, there's an oil spill and it's really slippery. I think that's why he fell."

Tachibana silently nodded and he cautiously stepped forward. As he did, he watched as Haruhi quietly stood up and backed away from the boy on the floor. Tachibana kneeled down and took Kyoya's pulse; he smiled as the teenager tried to smack his hand away.

"I'm fine, just a bit winded." Kyoya winced and opened his eyes. He felt around for his glasses and Tachibana handed them to him. The two men exchanged silent glances. Tachibana asking if Kyoya really was okay and Kyoya glaring back that he was fine and to help Haruhi.

Tachibana sighed as he helped his master sit on the couch. Haruhi came back to them with a cold pack in her hands. Tachibana looked up at her and smiled his thanks. Kyoya just groaned as he applied the ice to his temple.

"Haruhi, I don't need to remind you that we need to get this cleaned up before anyone else slips and falls."

Haruhi shook her head at him as she picked up the bags she'd dropped when he'd fallen. Tachibana put a hand on her arm, silently asking if she was okay and she smiled at him as she nodded. Tachibana glared at Kyoya who had his eyes shut, silently willing his master to look at him.

Kyoya motioned the bodyguard closer and lightly tapped him on the forehead. "Pick me up a clean uniform; I don't have first period today so you have time to make it home and back. Once you've done that, finish picking up the items on that list I gave you."

"Please." Haruhi stated as she walked closer to the couch.

"What?" Kyoya's head throbbed and he shut his eyes again.

"Please and thank you." Haruhi said again and gave Tachibana a smile. "Please pick up those items for him, thank you." She handed Tachibana a small piece of paper with a small list of supplies. Please and thank you, she mouthed silently and Tachibana gave her a bow as he stepped out of the room.

"People respond better when you say please and thank you." She said quietly. He didn't respond, but then again she hadn't expected him to. "I'll apologize now, but I need the lights to be a bit brighter so I can see what I'm doing. I don't want anyone else to slip and fall."

Kyoya lifted his arm up and placed it over his eyes. He could still hear Haruhi cleaning the floor; she was definitely quieter about it than the twins or Tamaki would have been and he drifted into a light doze.

* * *

Tachibana ran out to the limousine, called in the orders from both teenagers and then drove to the Ootori mansion. He knew that somehow Haruhi had to be that little girl he remembered from all those years ago. He just had to figure out why she didn't recognize Kyoya, or even Tachibana himself.

He had been just starting his position with the Ootori's at that time, but those few months that summer had been some of the brightest and best moments of his young master's life. He had been summoned by Mrs. Ootori to guard her youngest son while he went out to play with other kids. Tachibana later discovered that Kyoya had no friends until the day they'd met a brown haired little girl and her mother playing on the swings at a park near one of the Ootori's newest hospitals.

Tachibana had almost had to drag Kyoya out of the limousine that first day, but once the first introductions were made the two children had gotten along like a proverbial house on fire. Tachibana remembered talking to the mother, Kotoko, but he didn't think the woman had said her last name was Fujioka. He racked his brain trying to think of what she'd told him. She'd been a lawyer and had recently quit due to health reasons. Her husband had started working nights in order to help keep their bills down. Haruhi hadn't known or cared that Kyoya was part of the famous Ootori Group, she had only wanted a friend to play with while her mom was visiting the hospital.

Tachibana could recall the day that they'd last seen Haruhi. It had been cloudy and overcast, threatening to rain, and yet the two children had met at the park. Kotoko had not been present, which had seemed odd to Tachibana, but he had shrugged it off as insignificant at the time. He and Kotoko had chatted several times prior to that day and she'd seemed to get weaker with every visit. He'd told her that if she ever needed him to he could keep an eye on the children while they played and since it was a set time, for Kyoya at least, he would protect Haruhi as well. So he'd surmised at the time that Kotoko had taken him up on his offer to watch her child.

It hadn't occurred to him until several weeks later that something bad might have happened. He'd driven Kyoya to the park as usual, but Haruhi hadn't been there. After several months of no playmate, Kyoya had withdrawn into himself again and stayed that way until Tamaki Suoh darkened his doorstep.

Tachibana shook off the remnants of the past and headed directly to Kyoya's room. Once there he pulled out a clean uniform and shoes. As he passed by the desk a small glint on the floor caught his eye. He bent down and picked up the necklace with the charm on it. A childish voice swept through his mind and he remembered the girl's sad brown eyes as she'd stated to his master, " _You're my Shadow King, Kyoya_."

Tachibana's fist tightened around the necklace as he ran back out to the car.

* * *

Haruhi found some wet floor signs and placed them in strategic places, just in case Tachibana or anyone else wandered in while she cleaned up the spill. She'd seen Kyoya open his eyes a couple of times, wince in pain and then shut them just as quickly. She finished wiping up the oil, then scrubbed the entire floor, all the while she kept an eye on her enigmatic senpai.

Haruhi had to admit that the boy intrigued her in a way that few members of the opposite sex did. For one, he was intelligent and not afraid to admit it. Then the added factors of dark-haired, tall, and a fairly well developed body made for a well rounded individual.

"Just too bad that he's rich," she muttered.

She almost jumped ten feet in the air when the object of her observation sleepily asked "What's wrong with being rich?" Unfocused deep gray eyes blinked at her owlishly as he tried to find his glasses. Haruhi handed them to him then backed away, almost tripping over the mop bucket as she did so.

She put the cleaning supplies away and came back out with a glass of water and some aspirin. He took a drink of the water and slowly reached a hand up to his temple.

"Do you want me to have the nurse come look at it?" she asked, and he tried to shake his head no, but winced as he did so.

"No, all our staff are well trained in first aid procedures. Tachibana should be back here anytime. Speaking of which, why aren't you in class, honor student Fujioka?"

"I'm on my way, I just wanted to make sure you were alright before I left,Kyoya-senpai. Get some rest."

Haruhi left the room and headed down the stairs, just as Tachibana started ascending them.

"He woke up, but he still has a headache," she informed the concerned man as she ran for her class. She glanced behind her once to see Tachibana taking the stairs two at a time in his concern for Kyoya. As she watched him enter the room, she was struck by the thought that she'd seen the tall blonde man somewhere else recently. She shook her head and as she entered the classroom, bowed repeatedly and chanted how sorry she was for being late.


	6. Chapter 5: Headache

**Chapter 5: Headache (by Serina)**

* * *

"Haruhi-kun?" it was a cute brown haired girl, who was one of the class representatives of Class 1-A. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Haruhi lifted her head and looked up at the smiling girl.

"You look fazed, I was worried," said the girl and flashed another cute smile. "I have heard that you, Haruhi-kun, had joined the host club. Is that true?"

Haruhi looked at her and tried to push away the awkward thoughts that were racing in her head. She couldn't stop thinking about the accident in the club with the rich jerk. Her face must have been flushed from all the thoughts. What was it? She couldn't quite place the feeling that was poking the sides of her stomach.

"I am sorry, Momoka-san," she said politely, "I was just sunk in thought and yes, I joined the host club, though, I definitely wouldn't use that word to define my involvement―"

"Can I visit you as a guest?" the girl quickly asked, looking at the puzzled girl expectantly.

Haruhi blinked her eyes and nodded slowly. Momoka Kurakano clapped her hands in excitement, as if something really fascinating had happened. What the heck! All the students in this school were weird. She sighed and went back reading her book. For some reason, she couldn't understand any of the things she was reading. Every time the image of that pale-eyed bastard hovering over her was coming to her mind. _Kyoya_ Ootori was such a... Her eyes widened when her mind was pierced with a flashing image of a young boy sitting on the grass - he, too, had those pale-grey eyes. His face seemed so familiar, so endearing.

She shook her head. She had some wild imagination, didn't she? But the image seemed so real, as if she had experienced it herself. Maybe when he landed on top of her, she hit her head as well and now these idiotic thoughts didn't leave her alone. She wondered how _he_ felt. He didn't seem to be a dramatic person, and she was sure he hit his head pretty firmly.

Oh, God, that Demon Lord was going to use it against her and make her stay in that stupid club of theirs longer. Shivers and shudders shook her body. No way, she would let him manipulate her into his schemes. He must have seemed a hard nut to crack, but Haruhi had sharp teeth. She flexed her arms and got ready for the next class.

* * *

"Mon ami," Tamaki whined, wrapping his hands around Kyoya's neck, "we should take you to the hospital. You are dying!"

"Get off me!" the raven haired boy pushed the blonde away and sighed frustrated, "I am not dying. For God's sake, stop being so dramatic!"

Tamaki looked at his friend with hurt puppy eyes and sat back on the plush sofa. Kyoya was still holding a small ice-bag that the school nurse gave to him. Tamaki made a great scene when he learnt about his accident. He almost alerted the whole Ootori medical group in panic. Thankfully the school doctor, who checked his head for any possible injuries, ensured that he was completely fine and there was nothing to worry about.

Frankly speaking, Kyoya didn't want any of Ootori hospital members to know about the incident. His father would be very disappointed, and he couldn't afford such outcomes, so he asked the doctor, who incidentally was sent to Ouran from the Ootori Medical, to keep the little accident a secret. Though, Kyoya had a major problem with keeping his friend Suoh's mouth shut. That guy didn't have any locks on his tongue. He glared at the depressed blonde, sitting next to him, and a suppressed whimper escaped his lips, as he shifted in his place―his head hurt.

Haruhi Fujioka's beautiful face flashed in his mind, and he found himself surprised at the memory of her soft lips. He awkwardly looked away, as if afraid Tamaki could see through his mind. It felt really strange. He never felt his heart beat in such weird way.

Kyoya rubbed his forehead and tried to collect his thoughts. It must have been because of his headache. He was tired and all sorts of odd feelings were bothering him as a result. It had nothing to do with that horrible Fujioka girl.

"Does your head hurt?" Tamaki's soft voice brought him back to reality.

"I told you I am fine. Only, I am not sure I will be able to stay in the club today," Kyoya mumbled more to himself than to Tamaki.

"We will do fine with the other guys," Tamaki said in understanding, "you better go home and rest a little."

Kyoya narrowed his eyes at his friend suspiciously and wondered if everything was alright with him or not. Tamaki gave up way too easily and that made Kyoya feel uneasy. He was glad that Tamaki didn't want to rescue him and ceremoniously drag him into the hospital anymore, but the silence that followed initial outburst forced Kyoya to think that the-not-so-bright blonde had something in his mind. He even wanted to question his friends's hidden intentions, but the door was forced open and honor student's gloomy face barged in. She looked thoughtful and overly moody about something.

"Oh, that's Haruhi!" Tamaki screamed happily and run to hug the poor thing. "Honour student, you are right on time―"

The girl, first, got so confused that she froze in place for a moment, and Tamaki took advantage of her shock and wrapped his hands around her neck, but then suddenly she pushed him away and stepped back, looking at the bewildered blonde with her frightened face. She shook her head and sighed loudly, finding Kyoya Ootori's curious gaze on herself.

"What do you want from me?" she stammered confused and shoot a frightened glance in Kyoya's direction.

"You should help Kyoya to get home," Tamaki declared enthusiastically. "He doesn't feel well and if I remember correctly it's your fault―"

"It's my fault?" Haruhi interrupted him with an angry drawl. "Of course, I should have known that he is an..."

She didn't finish her sentence. Just stared at the raven-haired guy and turned red. Why did she have to remember that awkward moment again? She looked away.

"I don't need help," Kyoya complained and got up. "I will call Tachibana and he will take me home."

Suddenly he felt weak and nauseous. His head did hurt. He had to sit down and cup his forehead with his palm. Tamaki looked at him concerned and then suddenly got up and turned to Haruhi.

"The honour student will accompany you. He is, after all, your personal assistant, right?"

"Tamaki, can you please stop talking under my ear, it makes my headache worse," Kyoya complained again and took out his cell-phone, "Tachibana will take care of everything, please, don't make a drama."

" _What a stubborn ass_!" Haruhi thought irritated, not that she was too willing to stay alone with the rich bastard and take him home and all, but the idiot's uncompromising behaviour was giving her a special kind of pain in the neck. The blonde kid, on the other hand, was so loud and over-eccentric that she couldn't wrap her head around the fact that the two were supposedly mates. What had she expected, anyways? These were rich kids in a rich school, and they would be weird and awful like this.

"...Yes... thank you Tachibana," he turned off the phone and, raising up his head, glared at her, "I will go..."

He walked to the door, but a sudden nausea made him stop and cling to the doorknob. He sighed and rubbed his temples. His head hurt.

"Kyoya," Tamaki screamed and ran to help him, "are you alright? I don't think you should go alone. Let me take you to the car."

Kyoya narrowed his eyes in irritation. He didn't want Tamaki to solemnly take him out of Ouran and make him the topic of the gossip in the school, but he did realize he wouldn't be able to come out of the club room alone. He turned and looked at the girl. She had that strange expression in her eyes... did she look _concerned_? He wrinkled his nose. Of course she wasn't! What was he even thinking?

"I can manage, Tamaki," he said seriously. "You are actually making my headache worse, please calm down!"

"I will go with him," Haruhi suddenly said, earning Tamaki's wide and happy grin and Kyoya's growl.

She walked to him and reluctantly offered her arm. The raven haired young man looked at her with contempt and didn't move from his place.

"Fine," he drawled, "I will tolerate your presence, but I don't need help. I can walk on my own feet."

She didn't say anything, just silently opened the door and walked out. Kyoya followed her. This girl was difficult to understand, and it intrigued Kyoya in ways he had never been. No girl ever made him feel so strange, so out of his usual self, except her... He didn't want to compare this weirdo to her, though. In no ways they could be compared. It irritated him that the thought of comparision would even pass through his head.

"You are not annoyed to be treated like a boy?" he suddenly asked when the silence became unbearable as they were making their way down the stairs.

"What does it matter?" she said absentmindedly, "a guy... a girl... I don't see why it should annoy me."

He looked at her curiously, but didn't continue to ask any more questions. They walked out of the main building and started to stride forward through the lavish gardens of the Ouran High School. The chill air smelled really sweet and fresh, like the blossomed roses and freshly cut grass around them. Haruhi smiled and closed her eyes for a short second. The beautiful fountains around were splashing the water drops on the flowers.

As they reached the parking area, Haruhi's steps became slower. Did she need to go with him to his house? She didn't really want to, on the other hand, she had no desire to be in that stupid club either. The chilly wind threw forward the leaves on the asphalted ground.

"Oh, Kyoya-sama," Tachibana said, as he spotted them and run towards them, "are you alright?"

"I am fine, Tachibana, thank you," Kyoya nodded affirmative. "Does anyone know about the incident in my family?"

"No, I haven't told anyone like you have asked me," the fair haired man replied quickly.

"Good," Kyoya sighed relieved, "I don't want to go home, can you take me to the summerhouse outside Tokyo?"

"Of course," Tachibana bowed, "but there is no one. Even maids come in the mornings to clean the house, then they leave. Are you sure you want to go there?"

"That's the reason why I want to go there," Kyoya said with a slight smile. "Don't want anyone bothering me or letting out any gossips."

"Alright, sir!"

When they arrived, it was already too windy, and the air outside got colder. Haruhi didn't mutter a word to the rich jerk throughout the drive, but the whole time, she was contemplating how she was going to get back home in time. The summerhouse was a very big, Victorianesque building with beautiful gardens and yard. Haruhi fretted even more, when the idiot rushed forward, leaving her alone with his bodyguard.

"Miss," the man called after her as she strode after the raven haired Ootori.

"Yes?" she turned back and looked at the bodyguard wide-eyed.

"Could you please give this to Kyoya-san," he said, handing her a small chain with a pendant, "he dropped it in the Club Room. I am sure it's very important for him."

"Of course," Haruhi smiled sweetly and took the chain.

The man carefully scanned her face as she took hold of the small thing. She rolled it in her hands and for a very short moment it appeared she had a small tinge of pain hurting her temples. Tachibana narrowed his eyes curiously. Was he right? Was she that girl? She smiled again and walked away to the building.

"I will go to get a doctor to come and check on Kyoya-san," the man explained, calling after the girl.

She politely nodded and continued to walk to the huge mansion.

Kyoya was nowhere to be seen when she entered in. Haruhi frowned and walked through the large hall. Why was she supposed to be here again? She looked at the small pendant in her hand that the guard gave her and for some reason it seemed familiar. She sighed. What was going on with her? An image of a young beautiful boy flashed in her mind, making her head ache. Again... the same boy... again and again would flash in her mind as if some important piece of memory that she has forgotten. These strange flashbacks were becoming more frequent after she started attending Ouran.

"Are you alright?" she heard the raven haired young man's voice.

She turned back to him. He was looking a little pale himself and his tie was undone. His blue uniform jacket was taken off.

"I wanted to ask that question to you," she said, walking closer. "If you are fine, I will head home."

"I am..." he paused and looked at her strangely, "I am fine."

"That's good," the girl mumbled, "this is yours, your bodyguard asked me to give it back to you."

When Kyoya saw the necklace in her hand, his eyes widened, and he snatched it out of her hands quickly, "Why do you have it?" he asked panicked.

"I just told you," Haruhi narrowed her eyes. "your bodyguard found it in the club-room. Why are you getting so worked up, anyways. It's just a necklace―"

"It's not just a necklace," he said harshly, "it's a very special necklace."

Haruhi sighed annoyed and turned back, "Whatever," she huffed, "I am leaving."

"Wait," he grabbed from her wrist. When she looked back at him, he averted his eyes, as if confused why he just did what he did. Haruhi looked at him carefully and blinked her eyes confused. She stared at his hand, firmly gripping her wrist and then her eyes fell on him. His hands were warm. He seemed such a cold person that it was hard for her to reconcile with the idea that he could have warm hands like that.

"I..." he paused, "doesn't matter."

She looked at him and suspected that he was in pain. Something made her heart clench in her chest and she sighed.

"Would you like some tea? I can make it for you and wait with you until your bodyguard returns," she said softly, which made the boy to look at her curiously and a little confused, but he only nodded.


	7. Chapter 6: Pains and Pb&j's

**Chapter 6: Pains and pbj's - by Tigyr**

* * *

Tachibana thought about the two young people he'd just dropped off at the Ootori summerhouse. Kyoya would be fine; he knew that because he'd talked to the school doctor before driving them anywhere. Kyoya would have a headache and that was the main concern right now. Getting the medication to his master before he took his frustrations out on Haruhi. As for Haruhi, he was a little concerned about her. He made a mental note to double check the security cameras in the host club just to make sure that she was okay. He'd noticed the slight headache she seemed to have been developing and called the school to verify whether or not she was allergic to any medications. Under normal circumstances there would have been a doctor/patient confidentiality clause. Since Tachibana and the school doctor were both Ootori employees, the exception was being made, at least in Haruhi's case.

Satisfied that Haruhi could take the same medication that Kyoya did, Tachibana asked the doctor to call in a prescription for both young people.

"Two separate ones, Tachibana?"

"We'd better, just in case the Master isn't around when she needs them. I'm sure that we can call her father and get his approval if we need to."

The doctor looked at Haruhi's medical file and saw that her father had already signed his approval for any prescription or over the counter medication, providing the doctor recommended it. Then he saw the note written on the side.

"Tachibana, I'm sending something the young Master will take note of and I think you should too."

"Is it something Master Kyoya needs to see right away, or can I just relay it to him later?" Tachibana knew that Kyoya would be getting temperamental and didn't want Haruhi to be the one to bear the brunt of his Master's brusqueness.

"You can relay it after the headache subsides, but I do recommend showing him this information." The doctor's words, the urgency in his tone, made Tachibana frown, but he accepted the information, and then went to the pharmacy to get the prescriptions. As he waited for the prescriptions to be filled, Tachibana opened up the email and inhaled. This was definitely something that Kyoya needed to know, and it explained Haruhi's sudden headache as well.

* * *

Kyoya watched from the sofa as Haruhi made them both a cup of tea. He could tell, even through his own throbbing headache that she had a headache too, or was in the process of getting one. He wanted to say something, but what could he say?

"Here, I hope it helps you feel better." He looked up just as she handed him the cup and saucer.

"Thank you."

Two simple words, and she smiled. Despite the pain he was feeling, he could see that those two words held a meaning he might never be able to understand.

"You're welcome, Kyoya-senpai." Haruhi started to leave, but he put a hand out.

"You can sit down, I promise not to bite." She didn't protest as much as she normally would have and that's when he knew that she was in pain too. He didn't know why she had a headache, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that Tachibana needed to know. Before he could do anything, Haruhi handed him a half of a sandwich and he stared at it in wonder.

"You didn't have much in the kitchen, but there was a loaf of bread along with some peanut butter and jelly. You should eat something before Tachibana brings back your medicine."

Peanut butter and jelly? Normally Kyoya would scoff at such a thing, but she made sense and it was true; he hadn't had much to eat at all. No, he hadn't had anything since he'd skipped breakfast to come in early and talk to Haruhi about her club duties. Then the accident had happened and when Tamaki had found him, it had been just before noon; he hadn't felt like eating since then. He watched her as she bit into her own sandwich, before he picked up his and started nibbling on it.

Memories of a sunshiny day, a picnic with his childhood friend, made him close his eyes and smile and the girl seated across from him inhaled softly as a peaceful look overcame his features. Admittedly, she'd only known him a few days, but the look of serenity that crossed his face as he ate his sandwich and drank his tea, made her wonder just who the _real_ Kyoya Ootori was.

The two ate in silence and Haruhi was about to pick up the dishes when Kyoya reached out a hand.

"Stop and sit." He paused for a few seconds, then added, "please."

* * *

Tachibana drove quickly, and carefully once he had the prescriptions he needed. He knew that Kyoya would be needing his medication, but he also knew that Haruhi could stand her ground with the young master. What he didn't know was whether or not Haruhi's headache had manifested to a full blown pain or not and that worried the bodyguard. His master was normally quite observant about such things, but when Kyoya was in pain, he didn't always tend to notice others moods or emotions.

He parked the car and quietly let himself into the house. To his surprise, there was no shouting or crying going on. In fact he couldn't hear anything, which was surprising, considering how bad Kyoya's headache had been before he had left.

He peeked into the kitchen, but the only thing out of the ordinary was the loaf of bread on the counter along with a jar of peanut butter. He looked in the sink and found some cold dishwater, but there were no dirty dishes. There was a saucer and what looked like a table knife in the drying rack that he didn't think had been there prior to his leaving.

He went into the living room and stopped in his tracks. Two empty saucers and two empty tea cups were on the coffee table. There was a small plate that had a few crumbs left on it, apparently from at least one sandwich. Kyoya was laying on one of the sofas, apparently asleep. He had his school jacket draped over his chest and was clutching the necklace that meant so much to him. Kyoya's glasses were on the table next to one of the cups. What surprised the bodyguard was that Haruhi was asleep on the other sofa. The young girl was covered with a light blanket that Tachibana recognized as the one that normally rested at the foot of Kyoya's bed.

He wondered what had transpired in his absence. He wrote out a note for Kyoya, explaining that he would return after he took Haruhi home. He placed the note under Kyoya's glasses then he lightly tapped Haruhi on her foot. The girl woke up instantly, and Tachibana smiled at her as he put a finger to his lips and pointed to Kyoya. The girl nodded, rubbed her eyes and stared at the blanket that was draped over her. Clearly _she_ didn't remember it being placed there. Tachibana took the blanket and placed it carefully over the still sleeping boy, then motioned for Haruhi to follow him.

Once they were outside and headed to the car, Tachibana apologized for not getting back as soon as he had hoped.

"I am sorry it took so long to get back, miss. Did anything happen?"

"I managed to get him to eat half of a sandwich, and he drank some tea. We talked for a bit and then, I think I fell asleep." She rubbed her head and Tachibana looked at her.

"Do you need anything before we go back to Tokyo? I can get you some aspirin or something."

He thought about the prescription that he had in the limo, but Haruhi glanced around as she climbed into the back of the car, and shook her head. "No, the nap helped. I was just surprised that I fell asleep. I don't normally sleep well in a strange house."

Tachibana shrugged and stepped around to the driver's door. As they drove back to Tokyo, he asked Haruhi about her family and she told him about her mother passing away while she was still a child.

"I am sorry, Miss Haruhi, I can tell that you miss her greatly. What about your father? Is he still alive then?"

"Yeah, he's been great. He works nights, so I don't always see him as often as I'd like, but we make it work."

Tachibana nodded as he listened to her. When they got closer to her section of the city, Haruhi leaned forward and tapped Tachibana on the shoulder.

"You're not going to drop me off at my house are you? No offense, but if a limousine was seen in my neighborhood, I'd never hear the end of it."

Tachibana smiled in understanding. "I can drop you off a few blocks away, if you'd like."

"That'd be great, I need to stop at the grocery store and pick up a few things for dad's dinner tonight. Tachibana, will Kyoya-senpai be okay? He was in a lot of pain earlier today; he seemed a bit nauseated before you picked us up from Ouran."

Tachibana nodded, "I left his prescription on the table in case he wakes up before I get back, and then I'll watch over him tonight to make sure."

Haruhi sighed in relief. She didn't know quite why she was so worried about the young man who frustrated her so much, but she was glad that he would be taken care of by Tachibana.

* * *

Kyoya woke up and glanced around the room. There was no sign of Haruhi, but he knew that someone, most likely Tachibana had been there, because he was now covered with the blanket that he'd placed over Haruhi when she had fallen asleep.

He picked up his glasses, and read the note from Tachibana. His head still ached a bit, but it wasn't as bad as it had been and he didn't want to take his prescription unless he really needed to, so he set it aside and thought about the conversation he'd had with the young girl.

"Stop and sit," then he'd added, "please."

Haruhi had sat down across from him and he'd wondered at first what he wanted to tell her. He'd placed his hand on his head and Haruhi had instantly stood up and gone back into the kitchen. He was about to complain when she came back in and handed him the bottle of aspirin. He'd glared at her, but she was already pouring them both another cup of tea.

"Please take a couple. It could be awhile before Tachibana returns, and you don't need to suffer needlessly."

Kyoya had nodded, then stated, "You need to take some as well. I noticed that you're pretending not to be in pain when you obviously are."

Haruhi had sighed and taken two aspirin that he'd handed to her. As he'd washed the pills down with the tea, Kyoya took off his glasses and placed them on the table. He'd pinched the bridge of his nose and glanced at the girl who fascinated and annoyed him at the same time.

"Haruhi, why did you choose to attend Ouran?" He knew from other sources that she was brilliant if somewhat absent minded but her answer still managed to surprise him.

"Honestly, it's because I want to follow in my mother's footsteps. My mom was a lawyer and this is one of the best ways I can honor her memory. If I can maintain my grades all the way through, then I'll have a better choice of colleges to choose from."

"Do you plan to stay in Japan for your studies then?" He wasn't really that curious or so he told himself.

"I'm not sure yet. For now, I need to focus on high school and keeping my grades up. I was granted this opportunity, but I'm not sure any of you can understand why I want it."

She sounded almost lonely, Kyoya thought as he analysed what she told him and he knew he had nodded in agreement when he replied, "It's not merely wanting to succeed, it's needing to."

She needed to keep her grades up to maintain her scholarship and possibly go on to college. He needed to do the same, but for different reasons. He remembered glancing over at her, and noticing that the aspirin had done its trick. She had closed her eyes, and was almost asleep. Did she have the same problem? Maybe not in the same way he did, after all he spent most of his nights figuring out how to keep the club from going into debt. She probably spent hers studying. He had gone into his room and retrieved the blanket from the foot of his bed. It was old and worn, but it would suffice long enough until Tachibana got back from Tokyo.

He had placed the blanket over her, and heard a small, "thank you," for his effort. He had smiled as he sat down on the sofa across from her. He had learned a few things despite the headache that had plagued him all day. One thing he had learned: he might not want them all the time, but he did like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

* * *

When Tachibana returned, he walked straight into the living room. Kyoya was still lying there, but he opened his eyes when he heard the other man approach.

"Did she make it home safely?"

Tachibana smiled at the nonchalant tone. "Yes, sir. I dropped her off, at her request, by her grocery store. Ajima followed her home once she was done. He just reported in and she's home. So is her father."

Kyoya could hear a note of concern in the bodyguard's voice. "What is it?"

Tachibana handed Kyoya his laptop. "The doctor thought you might want to see something in Miss Fujioka's medical file. He said it might help clear up a few things or prevent some future misunderstandings."

Kyoya glanced up, and Tachibana smiled again. "It's nothing life threatening. It can wait until you've had a full night of sleep sir. I do, however, recommend that you read it before you go back to Ouran."

Kyoya frowned, "If it's so important, just tell me about it."

"Miss Fujioka lost her mother ten years ago."

"I know, she told me earlier today."

"What she didn't tell you is that she had an emotional or mental breakdown shortly afterwards."

Kyoya sat up and reached for his glasses. "Is she dangerous?"

"No sir, but it did give her a bit of amnesia for a few weeks. Since then, she's apparently remembered almost everything."

Kyoya opened up the email that the doctor had sent to him. Everything that Tachibana had said so far was in the file. Then he read what Tachibana hadn't told him yet. Kyoya inhaled as the implications of what he read raced through his mind. He traced the charm on his necklace as he stared at the screen.

"They think she hallucinated a childhood friend?"


	8. Chapter 7: Recognition

**Chapter 7: Recognition (by Serina)**

* * *

The next few days passed without any incidents, but the thought about the new girl wouldn't leave Kyoya's mind. The new information about her prior condition put a seed of doubt in his heart. There were so many things that seemed just so familiar about her. He would catch himself silently following her movements, her conversations with the clients. What if it was the same girl? They even had the same name: _Haruhi..._ Just where was she? What did happen to her? Why didn't she ever come back? He had waited in that same park for so many days until the sun would set, but she never came.

It was that afternoon that Kyoya came up with a rather crazy plan, something that he first naturally rejected, but then reluctantly agreed to. He wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to proceed with it, but there was a slight determination in his mind. Haruhi, the girl from his childhood, had a scar on her upper leg. She fell down when they were playing and acquired what he would think to be a nasty scar. Maybe he could check it and confirm for once and all. He knew it would be highly inappropriate, but he couldn't stand it anymore. Everything about this girl reminded him of _her_.

The club was, as usual, busy with their cosplay and guest entertainment. He didn't exactly know why they were dressed into these ridiculous costumes, but the clients liked it, and Tamaki apparently knew what he was doing. His usual guests, Yuriko and Azusa, were just staring at him, drinking tea and smiling, while he was working on the budget of the club.

He dared a glance at Fujioka girl. She seemed blissfully oblivious of what was happening around her. Momoka Kurakano and her group were staring at Harruhi Fujioka in awe, as if she was some kind of sparkling prize on a pedestal. Kyoya found himself annoyed at the way these girls were surrounding her, and it was, to say the least, ridiculous.

She seemed to be pleasant with the girls, and they looked very smitten with her. She kind of looked like a boy, didn't she? She was a pleasant conversationalist and had a bold attitude. Girls according to Tamaki's boring lectures liked those qualities. Did she, Haruhi, like it too? It appeared she didn't care either way.

He continued typing in his computer and wondered if any of the hosts guessed that she was a girl. If they did, they didn't show, although, he was pretty sure, Tamaki was too daft to actually find out that she not a boy so soon. He would enjoy the moment of the blonde oaf discovering the truth. A small, playful smile curled his lips, but then he frowned. He needed to find out the truth about her too. It was nagging and annoying him, and he needed to find out really soon if his suspicions were true. He realized they were quite baseless, but still something about the girl wouldn't let him drop the subject.

Tamaki's sudden desire to play the piano hindered his attention and he looked up, his grey eyes falling on Fujioka girl. She seemed to be enjoying the music. Tamaki was a talented pianist. His playing was smooth and clean and precise with the rhythm. Kyoya sighed and closed the laptop, grabbing the attention of the girls sitting in front of him.

"Would you like some tea, ladies?" he smiled politely and leaned to take the teapot.

He looked at Haruhi again. Her brown eyes were sparkling as if she was bemused at something. He found it awfully irritating that he couldn't quite read her face nor understand her as easily as he would with others. Her body was completely hidden in her uniform, and he could never check her upper leg. Of course not, if only he didn't intend to undress her in the middle of the room. The idea was almost tempting.

"Kaoru, when you left for atelier all alone without me I was so hurt," Hikaru mumbled, dramatically and fiercely looking at his twin―the girls gasped, "but then I realized you were working on the swimsuit sketches I have started and didn't know how to finish."

"I wanted to help you, Hikaru," Kaoru replied in the same exaggerated tone, "it was your first attempt at making your own line of swimsuits, and I wanted mother to be proud of you."

The girls lost there, and Kyoya turned his head lazily, only to freeze in place with surprise. How had he never thought of it before? Of course, there was no easier way to get the Fujioka girl naked without being creepy than getting her into a swimsuit. Hosts annoyed him for a good vacation anyways. He could secure the Aqua garden that was a restorative health park Ootori group had built and yet hadn't been tested out. He could find out the small detail about the girl and test the safety and other aspects of the resort park.

He quickly checked his computer and decided to organize the event to the pool park sometime next week.

――――

Twins seemed to be rejoiced with the news, Haruhi looked absolutely terrified and Tamaki was quite ecstatic. Kyoya stared at the silent host and his super cute companion for a second and caught Mori-senpai staring at Haruhi. Was he aware that she was a girl? Normally, the silent host was very stoic in his interests, but now he looked at her with actual interest―not suppressed curiosity, but real substantial interest, and it reached his eyes. Kyoya found himself scowling and a little annoyed. He was never a particularly possessive person, nor he had any reason to be possessive of that disaster of a girl Fujioka, but the feeling was there and couldn't make anything of it.

The Aqua park was quite pleasant. After its construction it was the first time he was there and he liked it. The noise that the twins and Tamaki were making was giving him a headache, on the other hand. It appeared to be some sort of argument on what Haruhi should wear. Kyoya shook his head. Those idiots knew that Haruhi was a girl. Was he too busy to notice? Apparently, he was and he missed one of the most amusing things in the world.

Haruhi came out from the dressing room dressed in a pink swimsuit, but before Kyoya could glance at her Tamaki gave her his long jacket and completely flustered asked her to get dressed. Kyoya sighed. Now he would need to find a new way to take a close look at her legs to detect the scar if it was there. He wasn't sure how he would react if it was and more importantly if it wasn't. Would he be disappointed?

Everything was quite well until Honey-senpai disappeared. Kyoya sighed and called the security team to find him. And all of that was the fault of those stupid twins and Tamaki. For God's sake, they were adults, not little children who needed to be taken care of. They started a big water gun fight and Honey-senpai was separated from the group.

His cousin looked very worried. He was sure nothing would have happened to the cute blonde, after all, he was not as harmless as he looked, but it was unfortunate to have the entire trip ruined because of those three oafs.

It unnerved Kyoya for some strange reason that Haruhi joined Mori to go and search for Honey. He closed his laptop and got up. Tamaki was already on his way to go after them anyways. He didn't know why he was so jealous, but he was and it was odd. Kyoya Ootori never had a reason to get jealous over such petty childish things.

It took them around 10 minutes to find Honey-senpai. The Ootori police had surrounded both Haruhi and Mori thinking they were attackers. Honey had intervened and it ended very gravely for the Ootori Police team. After all, Honey-senpai's martial art skills were legendary. Haruhi hadn't been shaken even one bit that guns were pointed at her a few minutes ago. She was muttering some insults under her nose, how she didn't want to be in that damn place with those rich bastards. He chuckled amused. She had some really entertaining personality.

"Thanks for helping me to collect important data," he said when he realized everyone were staring at him for staring at Haruhi.

"I knew it," Hikaru mumbled under his breath.

Kyoya gave them a lopsided smile and moved back. He didn't like the way everyone concentrated on him. He felt safer in the shadows, where he could safely think and contemplate about his next step. Being in the center of the attention was Tamaki's thing, not his. He glanced at the short-haired commoner and sighed. He had started this whole thing just to check if she had the small scar on her leg, which was completely insane to begin with, and he felt tremendously stupid, but now he was upset he didn't manage to check and throw away all his suspicions. Surely, she wasn't that girl, right?!

――――

She knew that everything was going to end in some nasty way, when they announced about this trip. This group of morons were absolutely hopeless. And their evil, secret lord was brooding the entire time, glaring at her, perhaps, plotting her death. She wasn't sure, but whatever it was, it was not good. She needed a nice book, warm bath and a good cup of tea to forget about everything that happened today. When the people with guns showed up, she actually felt terrified.

She walked down to the resort's dressing room to change into something more comfortable for her travel back home. She officially declared the last few hours utter waste of time. Getting hold of her shirt, she quickly rolled it over her head and threw it into her backpack. As she was undoing the zipper of her shorts, she heard a strange noise, coming from outside the dressing room. She froze for a moment, concentrating her hearing, trying to sort out what it was. When nothing was heard anymore, she decided she just imagined the noise, after a very stressful day with the world's most annoying stack of boys.

She tossed away her shorts and stood there in her underwear and bra. She folded the discarded clothing and put it into her backpack. As she was about to get her pants on, she heard a loud bang. She stilled and tried to peek out of the key-hole. She couldn't see if there was anything outside. And she didn't want to scream her lungs off, letting whatever it was to know about her existence in the dressing room. If that thing was dangerous, then it, in fact, was in her interest to make her presence unknown. If it was one of those morons, she was sure there was nothing to worry.

But suddenly someone opened the door and jumped in. It was a strange man, who looked a little terrified if anything. Seeing the near naked girl, his eyes widened and he stared at her shocked. But then before she could say anything, he grabbed her by the shoulders and closed her mouth with his hand.

"Please don't scream," he whispered.

She wanted to say she won't scream if he let her go, but the man's grip was too tight and she ended up blabbering something incoherent. She tried to push him away, but it only served for him to tighten his grip. He was looking around scared. She realized he was hiding. She tried to stomp on his foot, but the man managed to step away. She started to claw his hand with her nails, but it didn't help.

"I will let you go," he said with a wince, "if you stop fighting."

Haruhi stilled and decided to give it a try. After all, fighting didn't really help. She needed to get away. The man paused for a moment. His grip loosened and then he pulled his hand away. Taking advantage of it, Haruhi kicked the man and tried to run away, but he quickly recovered and grabbed her.

"I told you to stay still," he said now angrily, "I wasn't going to hurt you, but now―"

――――

"Where is dasaoka-kun?" Tamaki questioned as he looked around and didn't spot Haruhi.

"He went to change his clothes," Hikaru said, "his were partly dirty, because of the little adventure in the jungle."

"Maybe you should check on your assistant, Kyoya?" Tamaki said, looking at his raven haired friend, who seemed completely forgotten about the reality surrounding him.

He looked at Tamaki, clearly annoyed and shook his head, "He will turn up," everyone looked at him quizzically and he added, "eventually."

He turned his attention to the computer screen and continued to work on his calculation of the latest changes that occurred in the stock market. It was quite fun. He knew nobody understood his fascination with mathematics and economy, but then again, he didn't understand Honey-senpai's thing for sweets, nor Tamaki's enthusiasm for flirting with random girls. Everyone had their own ways to relax.

That is until he got a notification from his head of father's security team. The man was asking about their whereabouts. It turned out a stranger broke into the resort facility. Kyoya scowled, trying to sort out how much trouble this will cause him at home. After all, his father would claim that the incident happened when _he_ was in the resort. He sighed and dialed for Tachibana.

"Did you get the notification alert, Tachibana-san?" he asked blankly, "yes, we are all at the entrance, inside the cars and are ready to leave―"

He interrupted himself. It wasn't true. Not all of them were inside the car. The little commoner was changing in the dressing room and she didn't show up yet. His heart started to beat up faster, and he couldn't even understand why. Surely, he wasn't worried about that rude, little girl, was he? Where was she anyways?

He looked through the window and, not spotting her anywhere, cursed under his breath, "Chikushou!"

Everyone stared at him for a moment surprised, but he ignored them and, getting up, hurried to the resort facility, where the dressing rooms were located. He strode through the asphalted path and went directly to the building. He was sure she was fine, and he was worried for no reason. That girl knew how to stand up for herself if she indeed was in trouble. But these thoughts didn't calm Kyoya at all, if anything he became more aggravated.

When he reached the dressing-room area, he stopped. There was a banging sound and a small whine. He walked towards the room that the noise was coming from.

"I told you to stay still," Kyoya heard someone growl angrily, "I wasn't going to hurt you, but now―"

He pushed the door open before the man could finish his sentence. He froze in his place. The girl was nearly naked, wearing only beige underwear and bra. And a strange man had pressed her against the wall. He was trying to choke her. And she was trying to push him away. He was so shocked that he stood there for a short second and stared at the crazy scene in front of him.

The man let go of her, seeing Kyoya standing right in front of them. She fell down on the floor with a thud. Her face was bright red, and she was breathing heavily. But before the man could step forward, or Kyoya could even do anything, she kicked him again. The man fell down and launched forward to grab Haruhi, but Kyoya managed to grip her by the shoulders and pull her out of the dressing room. He quickly locked the door when she was out, leaving the man trapped inside the dressing room.

"What are you doing?" she questioned, looking at him sternly, not one bit concerned that she was nearly naked.

"What am I doing?" he asked confused and tried not to stare at her chest, "I am trying to suspend the intruder, until my security team arrives, so they can deal with him."

He stared at her face. She was breathing unevenly. "Are you alright?" he asked cautiously, "how did that man get there? Are you hurt?"

"As if you care," she rolled her eyes, "I am fine and as you have seen I was doing fine."

He sighed relieved and texted Tachibana, giving him the coordinates and informing him that he found the intruder.

"Can you open the door, so I can get my clothes?" she spoke irritated, "I really don't feel comfortable with the idea of standing here like this."

Kyoya gave her a glance and averted his eyes, not wanting to stare, "We can't open the door, until the security arrives. He should stay there."

The guy was banging at the door, trying to break it and escape. Kyoya took out his jacket and threw it on her shoulders, and as he was about to stand back, he saw it―the scar on her leg. It was her―that girl from his past. The girl he had been searching for all this time. His heart skipped a few beats and then started to beat crazily. He couldn't believe his eyes. She changed so much. What was he going to do? He didn't know if he should be happy or disappointed. He expected her to be a lady-like, young woman, not whatever she was, kicking random men like this and not caring that she was exposing too much skin in front of a boy.

"Haruhi," he mumbled as if trying to taste her name. She looked at him curiously.

"Thank you, I guess," she mumbled suddenly, "I mean I was doing fine, don't get me wrong. I still would manage to do fine. But yes, your arrival kind of helped and..."

She looked at him sideways and realized he was staring at her. What was it with him? He looked like he was going to cry or something. She felt strange under his gaze and wrapped herself in his big jacket. Hot blush covered her cheeks, when she recognized the look in his eyes.

"I will..." she mumbled, "I... I mean thank you for the jacket."

――――

"You seem very preoccupied," Fuyumi noted, looking at her younger brother, "did something happen?"

Kyoya raised his head and looked at his sister. He scanned her face, trying to understand if she knew anything, but she looked completely oblivious. He smiled.

"I suppose," he said with a wink.

"Something really good?" she wanted to know, "I haven't seen you like this before."

"Who knows, nee-san," he smiled and looked away, "who knows!"


	9. Chapter 8: Decisions, decisions

**Chapter 8: Decisions, decisions. By Tigyr.**

* * *

Kyoya sighed as he looked through the files on his laptop. He could hardly believe the current expenses that the club had racked up. He sighed again and was startled when Haruhi asked him if he was okay. As he nodded his head, he couldn't help asking about her past. He knew something had to have happened to have made her forget about their previous friendship.

"Haruhi, I overheard you telling some of our guests that you lost your mother at a young age. How old were you when that happened?"

Haruhi smiled at him and he stared at her. This was the person he knew and remembered. That smile was just as he saw it in his memories. The bright brown eyes, the smile that encompassed her whole being.

"I was only five at the time, and mom was my best friend. She was a lawyer, but she was my mother first, and she always made time for me and my dad. I think losing her hit my father more than it did me, but we had always been close. It was a hard time for me and dad. He couldn't work for the longest time and by then his boss had fired him. One of his friends suggested that he try working at the bar, and he's been there ever since."

Kyoya nodded as he took in that bit of information. If her dad had emotionally collapsed, then what had happened to her grandparents? As if she had picked up on his thoughts, Haruhi glanced at him as she said, "I don't remember much about my grandparents. I do know that my grandfather had the same eye problems that I do and that's why I am able to wear his glasses when I can't find my contacts or when we can't afford to replace them. As for any other relatives, Dad never mentions them, so I'm not sure that I have any. If we do, they never call or visit; I don't think I've ever seen a card from anyone either."

Kyoya didn't respond and she looked up at him. He was lost in thought and she smiled at the distant look in his eyes. It was times like this that her mind started to remind her of that imaginary friend she'd had as a child. The dark haired little boy with grey eyes and a shy smile. She often wondered what Kyoya had looked like as a child. Then again, it was hard to imagine the Shadow King as a child.

"What is our next campaign going to be Kyoya-senpai?"

Her question brought him out of his reverie and he smiled as he pushed his glasses back up on his nose.

"I believe the others mentioned something about going to the beach." He wanted to see her reaction and was a bit surprised by the lack of enthusiasm in her response.

"Well, yeah they did, but I didn't think you would take them up on it." Her statement gave him pause and he typed a few nonsensical words into his laptop as he struggled to find an appropriate answer.

"Well, it is outside of the club's budget, but we might be able to make it work. I just have to see what we need for an outing. As you said, it's not something I would normally agree with, but we do need to keep up our own moral as much as we need to think about our guests."

Haruhi stared at him as he started punching figures into his calculator. "Uh, senpai, do I have to go on this outing with you guys this time?"

Kyoya gave her a sideways glance, "Is there a reason you shouldn't be going?"

She sighed and shook her head, "I guess not, I was just looking forward to a weekend studying, that's all."

Kyoya shut his laptop down and put his calculator to one side as he turned to look at her.

"Are you worried about your studies?"

Haruhi started to shake her head no, then nodded. "I haven't been able to concentrate that much with the recent club activities, and if I can't keep my grades up then I can't keep my scholarship, and that means I can't honor my promise to my mother."

Kyoya drummed his fingers on his laptop as he considered what she was saying. If she didn't maintain her grades, then she would not only lose the scholarship, she would be ousted from Ouran as well.

"What classes do you need help with?" His question surprised him as much as it did her.

Haruhi shrugged as she started to put her books into her backpack. "It will be fine senpai. I just need a few days to study before the next exam, that's all."

Kyoya narrowed his eyes as he watched her leave. He started to get up to follow her but a noise from the back of the room had him spinning back to see Honey sitting there a sleepy look on his face.

"I thought you had left already, Honey-senpai," Kyoya said as he approached the smaller host.

"Takashi had a late practice, so I stayed to take a nap. Are you worried about Haru-chan? She sounded like she was worried about her classes. She won't have to stop being a host will she Kyo-chan?"

The worry in Honey's voice seemed to echo his own thoughts, and Kyoya shook his head. "We can help her, but I'm not sure that she will accept our help."

"Why wouldn't she?" Honey sounded almost indignant, and Kyoya smiled at him.

"I'm not sure that she knows how to rely on anyone else, Honey-senpai."

The boy lolita turned his blue-eyed gaze onto his younger friend, "What do you mean?"

Kyoya sighed and looked at his laptop. Sometimes Kyoya forgot that none of the others tended to look into the background history of their friends and clients. That was all part of Kyoya's role in the club, but right now he needed someone to talk to. He looked at Honey, and instead of the child-like look that he was used to seeing in the club, there was the mature, young adult, martial arts master who cared about his friends and family.

Kyoya shook his head and motioned for Honey to walk with him to the door. As they left the club room, they met up with Mori who said nothing, just followed silently behind the other two. Kyoya saw Tachibana waiting for him and motioned for the bodyguard to follow him to Honey's, then he climbed into the limousine with the other two boys.

On the way, he told the older boys what he had discovered so far and that he was concerned about Haruhi maintaining her grades. Mori said nothing, just turned even more thoughtful as Honey and Kyoya started making plans to keep their princess from failing high school. As they approached the Haninozuka residence, Kyoya looked at Mori who met his gaze steadily.

"I'm sure you've both heard that we're supposed to go to the beach for one of our next club activities. Haruhi's already asked to stay behind. I was tempted to tell her yes, but I almost think that she needs to get away as much as anyone does. I'm asking for your honest opinions. Do you think we should go or not?"

"Yes." Mori's answer was short, but held a ton of meaning behind it.

"Can Usa-chan come too?"

"I don't see why not." Kyoya replied as he watched Mori's expression. The stoic young man just nodded in agreement as Kyoya continued. "I do most of my studying at night, and I know that you two maintain good grades, despite your schedules. My question is how do we get Haruhi to study with us, or to ask us for help?"

"She won't, not until she needs us." Mori's reply stunned both the other two. "Haruhi never had anyone before she came here. As you said, she is not used to asking for help. We need to remember this."

Kyoya stared at Mori in surprise. The fact that Mori had uttered more than two syllables was part of the reason, the other was Mori's insight into Haruhi. He glanced at Honey who was beaming at Mori.

"You're right partially right Takashi; Haru-chan _didn't_ have anyone to rely on. We just need to prove that she can rely on the host club for assistance from now on. Maybe we could just suggest that we're going to do some studying, and ask her if she'd like to join us?"

Kyoya nodded at both of them, and for the next few hours the three conspired, trying to determine the best way for them to show their female counterpart that she wasn't alone anymore.

* * *

Haruhi sighed as she thought about the conversation she'd had with Kyoya that day. His unexpected offer to help with her studies had been tempting. She suspected that out of all the club members, he was the one who actually studied. While she didn't know exactly what courses he was taking, she knew he had to be in some business classes and that he was exceptionally intelligent.

She sighed and inwardly acknowledged that she was fascinated with the grey-eyed boy. He wasn't like Tamaki and the Hitachiin twins. He was quiet and studious, he was manipulative yes, but it wasn't malicious. He was concerned about the club and its members. He wanted the club to succeed, even if it meant that he had to be a bit conniving in order to make ends meet.

The phone rang and she answered it, knowing instinctively that it would be her father.

"Hey Dad, yeah I'm home and no nothing happened today. What would you like me to fix for supper tonight? Don't be so worried, I'm a big girl now and can take care of myself. Yes, I'll make sure the door is locked before I go to bed. Oh we're supposed to go to the beach one of these weekends, is it okay with you if I go? No, I don't want you packing my bags, you'll make me wear those frilly things called dresses. No, Dad, no, I'll be okay. I'll let you know just when we're going. Okay, love you too Dad."

Haruhi smiled as she hung up the phone. Her dad loved her, she knew that, but sometimes he tended to go a little overboard when it came to her clothing. He just couldn't understand why she preferred wearing boys clothes when she was a girl. The fact that he wore women's clothes and was a male hadn't crossed his mind apparently. She laughed as she made sure the door was locked and the windows were all secured.

As she prepared her supper she wondered again about Kyoya's unexpected offer of assistance. She thought about that as she fell asleep and when she woke the next morning she decided that she would take the Shadow King up on his offer of help. Even though she was still wary that Kyoya might find something else to tack onto her mountain of debt, she didn't think he'd do it in a way that would make her lose her scholarship. There wouldn't be any merit in it.

* * *

Kyoya spent the next few days figuring out the expenses needed to take the hosts to the beach. Haruhi didn't have a passport, so that meant any foreign travel was out of the question. Of course they could always get her a passport, but that would mean talking to Ranka about taking his daughter out of the country and he doubted that Ranka would approve. Kyoya tapped his finger against his mouth as he tried to come up with another option.

A knock on the door, and a quiet shuffling had him looking up, and he smiled at the boy who entered the room. From the dark clothing and shadowed features, it was hard sometimes to realize that Umehito Nekozawa was actually a nice person, just very shy and afraid of the sunlight.

"Nekozawa, what brings you into our hallowed domain?"

The older boy blinked nervously and swallowed hard several times before he finally said, "We have vacation time coming up, and I wanted to know if anyone would like to join me at my summerhouse for the weekend."

Kyoya was about to say no, when he remembered that the Nekozawa's summerhouse wasn't too far away from his own. He motioned for Nekozawa to sit down, and the two made arrangements for the club's upcoming visit.

"I won't have room for too many guests," Umehito said apologetically when Kyoya mentioned bringing some of their female clients along.

"Hmm? Oh, don't worry about that aspect. It will be just the host club staying at your residence, while we entertain our guests on the beach. I can make hotel arrangements for our guests. I will have to ask that we put Haruhi in a separate room though if that's possible."

Nekozawa nodded and promised to bring Kyoya a layout of his house within the next few days. Kyoya thanked him, and was rewarded with a shy smile and quiet thank you in return. Once Nekozawa left, Kyoya rubbed his temple and grinned as he plotted the trip to the beach. He started to send out the email invitations, then stopped. He wanted to see if the rest of the club still wanted to go to the beach before he invited any guests along.

The afternoon passed quickly enough, and Kyoya was actually looking forward to the club meeting. Tamaki noticed his good mood and commented on it, but Kyoya shook his head, saying that he'd explain once all the other hosts had arrived. Haruhi showed up soon after with the twins tagging on her heels. She dashed into the room and hid behind the cupboard where they kept the tea cups and other club supplies. Kaoru and Hikaru tried to follow her, but a stern glance from Kyoya had the twins retreating from that area and turning their attention to Tamaki instead.

"Hey boss," Kaoru said.

"When are we going to the beach?" Hikaru continued.

Tamaki looked at Kyoya who shrugged his shoulders. Haruhi peeked around the corner and silently asked Kyoya if she was supposed to go with them and he nodded. She sighed and her shoulders slumped a little, but then she shook it off as she prepared tea for the hosts.

"Well, men, it will all depend on what locations we can go to."

"There's always the Bahamas," Kaoru stated.

"Or France," Hikaru chimed in.

"We could go to Spain or even Italy." Kaoru grinned at Hikaru who nodded enthusiastically.

Haruhi said nothing as she listened to the exotic locations that the others were mentioning. She knew that she didn't have a passport, and didn't dare to say anything to the others, because they'd find a way to buy her one and then tack it onto the debt that she was already trying to pay back.

Kyoya raised his eyebrows as Tamaki and the twins kept raving about this location or that one. He silently shook his head as he imagined having to come up with the expenses for even one of those locations. He typed more notes into his laptop as they all waited for Honey and Mori to arrive. Today was one of their off days, where they spent the time in collaboration, bouncing ideas off each other as they tried to find new ways to entertain their clients.

Kyoya smirked as he cleared his throat. Haruhi brought him a fresh cup of tea and he thanked her as she handed it to him.

"Senpai, do I really have to go?" she whispered and he nodded.

"Yes, we all need a break and you need one too." His reply was a bit louder than he'd intended, and it garnered the attention of the other three.

"Haruhi, you weren't trying to stay behind were you?" Hikaru asked, and Haruhi nodded.

"You can't do that, we have plans for you." Kaoru said, and Haruhi grimaced at the excitement she could see in their eyes. She could just imagine what some of their plans might entail, and she wasn't sure she wanted to be part of it.

"We are helping our mother with a new swimsuit line, and you were one of the first people we thought of when we were designing it." Hikaru said proudly. Kaoru nodded in agreement, and the twins started their spiel about the swimsuit they had planned for her. How the ruffles would hide her lack of bosom all the while emphasizing her small waist. Honey and Mori came in during the explanation, and Honey immediately showed her the swimsuit he had picked out for her, a blue and white one-piece that the twins immediately shot down.

Kyoya let the hosts squabble for a few more seconds, then emitted an ear-splitting whistle.

"Now then, as you can see, we have a few more days to decide what Haruhi will be wearing. I do advise that everyone bring sunscreen and your best attitudes. That being said, I will start making the travel arrangements and will let you all know the itinerary by this time tomorrow. Haruhi, I do need to speak to you and Honey-senpai after the meeting is over. Mori-senpai, you are welcome to stay as you and Honey-senpai travel together. In the meantime, we need to figure out what theme our next role play will be. Tamaki, I assume you have some ideas on this matter?"

Kyoya tuned out the rest of the conversation, knowing that Tamaki would be calling him later that evening. He calmly started inputting the trip expenses into a spreadsheet, and wondered briefly if Nekozawa knew just what he was doing by inviting the host club for a retreat.


	10. Chapter 9: Great Mistake

**Chapter 9: 大ミス―Great mistake by Serina**

* * *

The air was warm. Fresh wind was blowing from all sides, bringing the salty ocean air with it. She could hear the noise their clients were making. It was exhausting. Wearing a button-up shirt and long shorts was exhausting. She was promised a great day and a nice time at the beach, while all she got was hot, sweaty, exhausting hours under the burning sun. Tamaki-senpai was very excited and shone as bright as the stars in the night sky. She poured the bottle water over her head and closed her eyes. This was a torture. If only she knew, she would put more fight before coming to this beach.

"Haruhi-kun," Momoka Kurakano spoke gently, "would you like to swim with us?"

Haruhi opened her eyes and eyed the girl lazily. She really would want to, only she couldn't do it. She glared at the host boys. Those rich bastards would pay for this.

"No," she said with a smile, "I don't want to get into the water, but you, Momoka-chan, should go and swim. You look very cute in your swimsuit."

The girl blushed and very quickly darkened for a few shades. Her white bikini looked absolutely stunning. Haruhi decided that it looked quite nice, and she wouldn't mind wearing something like that herself. The girl softly giggled, thinking she absolutely swayed Haruhi by her appearance and then walked away, joining her friends who were playing with the twins. Being left alone was not bad at all. At least, she didn't have to entertain anyone.

It would have been far better if she was home, doing her homework. But because she was not, she decided to lay back and enjoy the sun as much as she could. That is, of course, until a strange chain of events started to develop. She didn't understand why she was taken to dark caves and then forced to do random things, and all the time the host boys stared at her bewildered. Kyoya Ootori didn't seem to be engaged in any of those games, but she had a strong suspicion that he was behind all that. Getting fed up with their nonsense, she decided to hide somewhere just so she wouldn't participate in what they did. She climbed up the cliffs where sun couldn't reach her and decided to read something.

"What book is it?"

Haruhi looked up and smiled. "Great Mistake," she said, making a room for the girl to sit, "it was my mother's favorite book."

Momoka smiled and sat next to her, "I saw you left and decided to join you," she said shyly, "I hope I am not disturbing you."

Haruhi shook her head, "I am happy for your company," she said with a pleasant smile. "It was very hot down there, and I can't stand the heat."

"It was very warm," she agreed with a tender smile. There was a small silence between them, but the green-eyed girl, cleaning her throat, talked, "So what is the book about? Making mistakes?"

Haruhi looked up at her and smiled, "kind of," she said with a soft laughter, "it's about a man who mistakes hotel rooms and ends up learning a very important secret that he wasn't supposed to know."

"What kind of secret?" Momoka wanted to know.

"I can lend you the book, and you can find out yourself," Haruhi offered, "it's my mother's copy. I have read it several times."

Momoka's eyes shone up, and she nodded awkwardly, "I would be very glad if you lent me your copy. I promise to treat it well."

Haruhi gave the book to her and smiled. Momoka was not a bad girl. She was friendly and nice and was very interested in her education. No wonder she was the class vice-president. She took the book and clumsily bowed, blushing crimson red.

"Thank you, Haruhi-kun," she mumbled, "I will put it in my bag, so I won't lose it."

Haruhi nodded, and the girl walked away, disappearing behind the cliff. Haruhi sighed and went through her own bag, trying to find something refreshing in there. The heat was getting even to the secluded area where she was sitting. Suddenly she heard a loud noise, and Momoka's voice calling for help. She grabbed the first thing under her hand and ran towards the noise.

Three idiots had surrounded Momoka and Kimiko. She wondered who they were and why were they even there. She would expect at least some decent security in the places where rich people were relaxing.

"Stop, pestering them, idiots," she said angrily, dumping the sea-shells they had collected with Honey-senpai at those idiots.

They got startled. And it was all that Haruhi needed. She had the girls ran away. Only now those idiots started to advance at her. What was wrong with them anyway?

"Look at this boy," one of them said, grabbing her hand, "so fragile, looks like a girl."

They grabbed her by the collar and dragged her towards the cliff ending. The ocean water was storming at the bottom. Haruhi knew they intended to throw her there, and she didn't know how to swim. She realized that it was not the best idea to attack them without extra plan in her head. But before they could throw her, she grabbed one of the guys by the hair and pulled so hard that he ran off backwards dragging her with him. He screamed in pain, and Haruhi, taking advantage, kicked the other guy in-between his legs.

"That is what idiots like you deserve," she said, kicking him again.

The third guy grabbed her by the neck and started to choke her. Haruhi knew that she wasn't strong. But she was smart and very smart. She didn't need to be strong to kick their ass. She bit the guy's fingers, and he let go of her, whining in pain. She would have considered the entire exchange a real victory, if not for one of these morons, running at her fast and pushing her off the cliff. Her eyes widened, and her heart started to beat fast as she made contact with the cold, salty water.

She inhaled sharply as suddenly the water left her lungs.

"Are you alright, Haruhi?" she could hear her name from all sides. Her body was weak, and her vision was blurred.

What had happened to her? She coughed. Her head was spinning. The sounds were reaching her ears, but they were muffled.

"Kyoya, when will the doctor come?" she heard Tamaki-senpai's voice. His voice was scared. She tried to blink her eyes, but her vision didn't clear up. She squeezed them shut, trying to concentrate on the voices.

"He will be here in thirty minutes," Kyoya spoke slowly, "I have sent Tachibana after him. Where are the twins?"

"They are taking care of those idiots." Tamaki replied, "when I think about them, I just want to go there and beat them all up... Hey! Where are you going Kyoya?"

"I have some things to clear up and..." he paused, "I need to solve this issue. This shouldn't have happened. Take her in, wait until the doctor comes."

"Alright!" Tamaki agreed, "give me a call if it is anything serious."

"I will," Kyoya said coldly, "take care of her, until I come back."

Haruhi opened her eyes again, and this time she could see the faces of the guys staring at her. Tamaki's face was scared. Honey-senpai looked very concerned. Even normally stoic Mori-senpai was agitated. She blinked and tried to speak.

"What has happened to me?" she asked.

"Are you alright, Haru-chan?" Honey-senpai questioned gently.

"I..." she grunted, trying to sit up.

Why was her head pounding? She felt so tired and her body ached. She tried to get up, but Tamaki and Honey prevented her from moving.

"Try to relax," Honey said, "you almost drowned. Tama-chan dove in after you and brought you out of the water. You must feel weak now. Don't move. The doctor will be here in a few minutes."

"I am fine," she said, "it's nothing serious."

"Nothing serious," Tamaki who was surprisingly silent suddenly screamed, "what were you thinking? How could you? Tell me, Haruhi, are you a martial artist? Why didn't you call for help? We were just there."

Haruhi snorted, "Does it matter?" she said angrily, "so if you were not there what was I supposed to do? Run away?"

"You are a girl, and you should acknowledge that," he said offended.

"What has that to do with anything?" Haruhi quirked a brow, "are you implying that because I am a girl, I am incapable of standing up for myself ? If that is what you think, then you are awfully mistaken. This could have happened with anyone―even with guys. Don't pretend that it was all because I was a girl."

"I won't talk to you until you acknowledge your mistake," Tamaki snapped.

"That's fine with me," Haruhi retorted, crossing her arms.

 _"Some rich bastards!"_ she thought.

She had no mood for this stupid "you are a girl" game. She didn't attack those guys to prove a point. She did it because others were in danger, and she didn't have time to think. It wasn't as if she wanted to show that there was no difference between a man and a woman. Even though there wasn't, and not all men would have actually ended up winning in her situation. It was three against one, and she was doing decent.

Mori-senpai had taken her in his arms to the mansion, as if she was disabled. She was so angry with Tamaki-senpai, she didn't even fight. All she wanted was some peace and rest. Thankfully that's what the doctor told them all. When all the hosts had gathered up in her room. Even Ootori Kyoya seemed to be curious about her well-being. After the doctor left, she took a shower and changed her clothes.

She was going to kill her father. She had told him, she didn't want him near her wardrobe. He had completely repacked her suitcase, and there was just about so much she could tolerate in one day. Frilly dresses were not on the list.

In the dining room the hosts were silent when she entered. Twins seemed to be very excited about her dress and even complimented her. She informed them how her father had repacked her stuff, but it excited them even more. Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai seemed to be completely busy with eating. Tamaki was gloomy and was sporting an expression somewhat between a lost puppy and an angry puppy. He didn't look at her and only glanced her way.

She looked at the Ootori guy. He didn't even pay attention to her. She snorted and sat at the table. They all could go to hell. She didn't care. They dragged her there and now were angry with her for being a decent human being.

She started to eat. At least, something was great. The food was absolutely delicious. She had never tasted anything this great before.

"Excuse me," Kyoya stood up, "I will go to my room."

"I am leaving too," Tamaki followed after.

They could leave. Who cared! If they were going to pretend that she was wrong for helping those girls, she didn't want to see them either. They acted as if she did the world's worst thing. She just didn't have time to call for help and while they claimed to be nearby, they were far enough that they didn't actually come when Momoka and Kimiko had called for help.

"Haruhi," Kaoru suddenly spoke, "you should talk to tono and apologize to him, because he was very worried about you."

"We all were," Hikaru agreed, "we were so scared when we realized what had happened."

"I am sorry," she said, "I didn't want to make any of you worry. But I also don't think I did anything to have Tamaki-senpai's wrath on me."

She suddenly felt sick. Did she eat too much? Did she have something bad? Her stomach was aching, and she wanted to throw up? It was the food. She stood up and, realizing that she wouldn't be able to hold anymore, ran. She opened the first door, that she saw in the long corridor, and went straight to the bathroom. It was such a waste to throw up that perfectly tasty meal. It was all her nerves. She shouldn't have eaten that much.

She washed her face and mouth. Her body was even weaker after throwing up. She felt tired and a good night's sleep would solve all her problems. She cleaned up and walked out of the bathroom, only then to realize that she was not in her room. She was in such a hurry that she didn't even look where she entered. There was a man sitting in the room, and he was half naked. She blinked embarrassed and bowing, spoke quickly.

"I am sorry, sir," she mumbled, "I didn't want to intrude into your room like this."

"Don't be silly, Haruhi," the person said, "it's me, Kyoya!"

Haruhi looked at him with wide eyes and wondered why she didn't recognize him. Maybe because he was shirtless, or because his glasses were missing. Something was different about him. She wanted to apologize again and leave, but then she remembered what Honey-senpai and the twins told her.

"I am very sorry, Kyoya-senpai," she said, awkwardly, "for worrying you all. It wasn't my intention."

"I wasn't particularly worried," he said, getting up, "but you did cause me a lot of problems."

He walked towards her in such intense steps that made Haruhi instinctively back off. What was wrong with this guy? Why did he need to be an ass at all times?

"Because of you, I had to send the client back. They were very worried, and it cost the club a lot of money to buy them bouquets of flowers," he continued, now standing so close, she could smell his shampoo. "Your irresponsible actions cost the club a lot of money."

She rolled her eyes, "It's your fault in the first place for wasting money and buying flowers for those brats," she snapped, "they should be thankful that I saved them. And you know what don't be an ass, I will pay for your stupid flowers. I can't believe the only thing on your mind is money."

He seemed a little taken aback by her words, but he schooled his features and turned off the lights. The room was only illuminated by the light outside.

He suddenly grabbed her, "you can pay me with your body," he said, throwing her on his bed.

She didn't manage to realize what was happening, before he straddled her. Haruhi's eyes opened wide and, she stared at the lifeless silver orbs staring back at her.

"Surely," he said in a low voice, "you are not that naive to think that one's sex doesn't matter. That kind of thinking can lead to unfortunate circumstances. You can repeat all you want that it doesn't matter and leave yourself defenseless, and I can take from you what I want."

Haruhi rolled her eyes and snorted, "Get off me," she complained, "you stupid idiot, before I break your nose."

She tried to push him off, but he just tightened his grip. And then she gave up and sighed, "fine," she said, "go ahead. I know this is all just a game, anyways. It doesn't take a genius to understand what kind of person you are, and you might be an insensitive asshole, but you are not a rapist."

He stared at her curiously, knowing full well that she was right. But she made him so mad, that he just wanted to keep playing to see what she would do.

"Is that so?" he chuckled, and his voice almost sounded dark enough to sent shivers through her spine.

"You won't do it," she mumbled, but now her voice was less confident, "you have nothing to gain from sleeping with me."

"Really?" he asked amused, "I can think of number of things I could gain..."

"This is really not funny," she pouted, "you are numbing my limbs, by holding me so tightly."

"It was never supposed to be funny," Kyoya assured her and she blinked.

Was he serious? She couldn't believe that he actually even considered the idea. She tried to push him off again, but it made him grip her stronger. His face came closer, but he didn't touch her, just stared at her curiously, calculatingly. She swallowed and gasped when a strange flicker passed in front of her eyes.

 _"Kyoya," a giggle was heard, "stop! Wait for me!"_

 _The little boy looked back, his silver eyes shining brightly._

 _"This is not funny," the little girl's voice said._

 _"It was never supposed to be funny," the boy said with a smile and kept running._

She gasped, breathing so loud and hard that the man holding her down on the bed, stared at her startled.

"What was it?" Haruhi demanded, breathlessly, "Who was it?"

"What are you talking about?" Kyoya looked at her curiously.

"Let me go," she said, "or go ahead and do what you want to do."

He didn't move, "I want you to understand that you were wrong," he said, "you have put you and others in danger. You should learn to trust others."

"So this is all about what Tamaki-senpai had said," she said slowly, "you were just playing the villain. You were convincing. I actually believed you for a moment."

"I see," he said with a sigh and let go off her hands. He straightened himself, but didn't move off of her. "Do you understand now?"

She felt another flicker pass, and strange memories popped into her head. Who was that boy? Why did she start remembering him now, and why was it so often? If she wasn't overwhelmed by the events that had happened during the day, she would think that the strange imaginary boy was Kyoya Ootori. Even his name was Kyoya.

"Kyoya," she tasted the name on her lips.

"Yes?" he asked a little confused by the informal way she had addressed him.

"How did you look when you were a child?" she asked absentmindedly.

Kyoya's face froze. The girl beneath him looked as if she knew something, as if she remembered something. He stared at her carefully. Should he tell her?

"Why?" he asked carefully.

"I don't know," she said, "it's strange to think of you as a child."

There was a pause. She didn't know.

"How long do you plan sitting on me like this?" she asked. "You already admitted it was not for real. So please get off me!"

"It feels cozy," the words were out of his mouth, before he could think.

"What?" she rolled her eyes, "are you five? This is getting ridiculous. It was such a big mistake to enter this room. What was I thinking, barging in?!"

Suddenly a loud noise was heard and the sky illuminated. Kyoya looked at the window. He didn't know it would rain. He looked back at Haruhi, and her face was contorted in fear. His eyes widened. He looked at her carefully, thinking she was in pain, before realizing she was scared. She suddenly grabbed his bare neck and pulling him down, hugged him. He could feel the shivers passing through her body. He could feel her heart beating against his chest.

"Are you scared Haruhi?" he asked almost gently.

She didn't respond. When another lighting struck in the sky and shortly after followed, loud noise came, and she trembled, he realized that she was scared of thunder. He patted her head softly, trying to comfort her. He remembered her being scared of thunderstorms as a child, and he remembered him promising to protect her as a child. It was time to keep his promise. He wrapped his hands around her and hugged her back gently, still lying on the bed.

The door was suddenly opened and Tamaki burst in, "Kyoya, I have a horrible sunburn―" the blonde paused, staring at Haruhi and Kyoya shocked.


	11. Chapter 10: Aftermath

_The door was suddenly opened and Tamaki burst in, "Kyoya, I have a horrible sunburn―" the blonde paused, staring at at Haruhi and Kyoya shocked._

 **Chapter 11: Aftermath by Tigyr**

* * *

Tamaki's interruption didn't faze Kyoya in the slightest. He adjusted his hold on Haruhi, who was still shivering in fright, and glanced over at his best friend. Tamaki stood in the doorway, his mouth opened and shut several times, almost like a fish out of water. Kyoya sighed and silently cursed his luck. Before he could do or say anything, Tamaki came out of his stupor and started ranting.

"YOU BASTARD! How dare you seduce my poor innocent daughter!" Tamaki's voice started to rise in pitch, and Kyoya knew he had to put his foot down or the blonde would wake the rest of the guys, and he really did not want to deal with the twins tonight. He tried his best Shadow King glare, but as usual it didn't intimidate Tamaki; at least not as much as it did the twins. Tamaki did lower his voice, but he kept his protest up until Kyoya had had enough.

Kyoya tightened his grip around Haruhi momentarily, silently telling her that he'd be right back. Then he rolled off the bed, reached for the sunburn cream that he'd placed on the nightstand when he came into the room, and slammed the bottle against Tamaki's chest with just enough force to make the blonde inhale sharply. With Tamaki's attention now on his aching chest, Kyoya forcefully grabbed him by the elbow and opened the door.

To his surprise Nekozawa was just outside. He was wearing his traditional black robes and held two small unlit, candelabras in his left hand and his right hand was raised as if he had been getting ready to knock. Nekozawa handed Kyoya one of the candelabras and dug into his robes. Finding a lighter, Nekozawa lit the candles on both candelabras as he asked about Haruhi.

"Ootori-san, I have not seen your friend Fujioka-san tonight, is she okay?" The concern in his voice was clear and he pocketed the lighter as he looked at his two kouhais. Tamaki was holding a bottle of sunburn cream and frowning at Kyoya who looked mildly annoyed at his friend.

Kyoya shook his head as thunder reverberated throughout the house. "She was sick earlier; she's resting in my room at the moment." An evil thought crossed his mind, and he hid a smirk as he continued, "Senpai, could you please escort Tamaki to his room, and then come back and speak with me? I have a request to make of you."

Umehito nodded and raised his candelabra to Tamaki's now frightened face. "Come Suoh-san, I will make sure you get to your room safely."

Tamaki started backing away, followed closely by Nekozawa. Kyoya sighed and turned to go back into his room. As he did so, there was another loud crack of thunder, and a bright flash of lightning. All the lights in the corridor, and the outside house lights went out. Kyoya heard Tamaki's brief screech of terror, and a delighted laugh from Nekozawa, but he was more concerned by the soft whimpers coming from within his room.

He strode back over to the bed and put the candelabra on the table. Kyoya gently picked up the girl cowering under the covers and sat down on the side of the bed, cradling her in his arms. He tried to make soothing noises, but the intensity of the storm outside was making it difficult to be heard. Nekozawa came back and knocked on the door. When Kyoya bade him to enter, the senpai peeked around the door and slowly approached them.

"You wanted to ask me something, Ootori-san?"

Kyoya nodded not knowing if Umehito could see him or not with the candlelight. "Haruhi's scared of thunderstorms. I need something to help muffle the sound. Do you have anything, or anyplace, in your estate that I can take her, so that she can't hear the storm?"

Haruhi whimpered again and Kyoya ran a soothing hand over her head. Nekozawa said nothing, but in the flickering candlelight, Kyoya thought he could see compassion and understanding cross his features.

"I might have something that will help her fears, Ootori-san. I will be right back."

Nekozawa softly closed the door again and went down the hall. He passed the room that Honey and Mori were in, and went to his own suite. He picked up a pair of noise-reducing earphones, and then went into the room that his younger sister used on the rare occasions that she stayed there. He entered the bathroom, searched the medicine cabinet until he found what he was looking for, then left the room and started back down the hallway. On his way back to Kyoya's room, he saw Honey and Mori conversing quietly, and asked them if there was anything he could help with.

"Haru-chan's not in her room yet. Takashi and I are getting worried about her."

Nekozawa could sense more than see Mori's affirmative nod.

"She is in Ootori-san's room. I am taking her some earphones so that she won't be as scared of the storm. You may come with me, if you wish."

Honey and Mori exchanged silent glances and nodded. They quietly followed Nekozawa back to Kyoya's room and waited patiently for Kyoya to respond to the knock on the door. The storm's fury nullified the sound of their knocking and Nekozawa opened the door. In the dim candlelight, he could see Haruhi was protectively cradled against Kyoya's chest. The Shadow King carefully laid her on the bed, then turned to face his senpai.

Nekozawa entered first, bowed and handed Kyoya a bag and the earphones he'd found.

"I don't have anything else, but sometimes my sister would put a cotton ball in her ears to muffle loud noises. If those won't work, the earphones should do the trick. The music room in the east wing is under restoration, or I would have you take her there, because it is sound-proofed."

Before Kyoya could thank him, Honey spoke up.

"Haru-chan can have Usa-chan tonight, if you think he could help her." As Honey moved towards the bed, he missed the glare that Kyoya sent towards Nekozawa, who shrugged in silent apology, and retreated from the room to go back to his suite.

"How is Haruhi?" Mori's softly spoken question made Kyoya look down at the girl. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut and Kyoya didn't know if she actually knew that the other two were there. Honey placed Usa-chan next to Haruhi and the frightened girl pulled it close to her chest. She burrowed deeper under the covers, and all three boys looked at her with concern.

"She's petrified of storms. I didn't realize we had a storm front moving in, or I'd have made other arrangements for us."

As if it sensed Kyoya's self-condemnation, the storm outside quickened and became louder. Kyoya started to go towards the windows so that he could pull the curtains shut, but the girl beside him made a soft, muffled protest. He picked her up in his arms again and held her close. Mori and Honey said nothing for several moments then Mori walked over to the windows and shut the curtains, blocking the worst of the storm's effects.

"She gave you the necklace," Mori stated as he walked back to the others.

Kyoya nodded, "She gave me the pendant as an early birthday present. Tachibana found a chain to put it on."

Honey patted his hand, "How old were you, Kyo-chan?"

Kyoya took a deep breath, tightened his grip on the girl in his arms, and then told his senpais about his mysterious childhood friend. "The pendant was the last thing she gave me. I remember that she was very sad that day. I think her mother was getting worse and she was crying. When Tachibana took me there later that week, Haruhi and her mother weren't there. They didn't come back at all after that."

"Why doesn't she remember you, Kyo-chan?"

Honey's question made Kyoya frown as he admitted that he wasn't exactly sure about the answer himself.

"From what Tachibana was able to find out, Haruhi suffered a severe breakdown. It caused her to forget our past." The question that she had asked him earlier that night came back to him, " _What did you look like as a child Kyoya?"_

"She didn't use honorifics," he muttered. The two older boys looked at him in question. "I think that she's starting to remember, but it's spotty and sporadic. When we were talking earlier, she didn't call me senpai, she called me Kyoya."

They watched Haruhi for a few more minutes, then Honey gave an exaggerated yawn and motioned for Mori to pick him up. As Mori did so, Honey yawned again, a real yawn this time and giggled softly as he sat on his cousin's shoulders.

"We can talk about this more tomorrow Kyo-chan. For now, try to get some sleep."

Mori nodded and started to leave the room. At the doorway he turned and glared at Kyoya, "Don't do anything stupid," he said and ducked his head to walk into the hallway. As the door shut behind the cousins, Kyoya looked at the girl who had finally fallen into a deep sleep.

" _You have shadows in your eyes, like you hide pain or tears. You're my Shadow King, Kyoya."_

That small childish voice ripped through him, and he slowly reached out a hand to trace her eyes.

"What is impeding your remembering me, remembering our friendship? Why can't you trust us, when you used to trust _me_ without question? What happened to you?" He knew that he wouldn't get any answers from the sleeping girl and he sighed in frustration. He laid her against the pillows and padded over to the door, making sure that it was securely locked.

Kyoya sighed and looked at the broken pair of glasses on the table. The fear he had felt when Haruhi had been tossed over the cliff rushed through him. He'd broken the glasses when he'd leaped into the ocean, just a half step behind Tamaki. He'd been terrified when she hadn't immediately responded to their first aid. He laid down on top of the covers and carefully pulled Haruhi into his arms, if nothing else than to reassure himself that she was alive; she was breathing and safe in his arms. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he received a text from Mori that nearly sent his pulse through the roof. He shook his head, sent Mori a reply and tucked the phone under his pillow. Exhaustion overtook him, and he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Haruhi woke up slowly and for once she didn't feel as nervous or drained as she normally did after a thunderstorm. Something soft tickled her chin and she smiled when she looked down at the pink bunny rabbit. She didn't know when Honey-senpai had entered her room, but she vaguely remembered him putting the bunny into her arms. The one thing she didn't remember was going back into her room. She started to get up when she felt something tighten around her waist.

" _What the hell?"_ She put her hand over her mouth before she could say anything more. The last thing she needed was the twins or Tamaki-senpai coming into the room. She cautiously peeked over her shoulder and almost fell out of bed when she realized that Kyoya Ootori was the one holding onto her.

"..." the dark-haired boy sighed in his sleep, relaxed his hold on her and turned onto his back. Haruhi inched over to the side of the bed, intent on leaving the room post haste, but another soft sigh from Kyoya made her glance over at the boy. Dark circles were under his eyes, evidence of his sleepless night, and she wondered why he had stayed with her.

" _Don't worry Haruhi, I'll protect you."_ That childish voice pierced through the veil shrouding her mind, and once again she wondered who that imaginary friend was. She could almost envision Kyoya as that child, but even in the few solid memories she did have of him, her friend didn't wear glasses, and Kyoya was almost never without them. She reached out a hand to touch him, but pulled it back when she realized what she was doing.

She stood up and glanced around the room. There was a candelabra sitting on the nightstand, alongside a pair of broken glasses and a necklace. The necklace held a pendant in the shape of a small crown adorned with dark grey stones.

" _You have shadows in your eyes, like you hide pain or tears. You're my Shadow King, Kyoya."_

As if in response to the childish voice in her head, Kyoya mumbled something she couldn't hear and then he sighed again. Haruhi watched as the beginnings of a tear built up under his eyelashes, and she wondered what kind of dreams or memories could make Kyoya Ootori sad enough to cry.

"What happened?" She was startled when she realized that she had spoken the words out loud. She looked down at the sleeping boy and remembered the warmth she'd felt when she'd woken up. It was a memory of being held in strong arms, and feeling safe and secure. It was a soft voice barely above a whisper, telling her that everything would be okay.

She stared at him for a few more minutes, wondering if she was going crazy. It didn't make sense. Why would he have given up his sleep for her if there was no merit in it? She sighed and looked at the stuffed rabbit in her arms. Usa-chan didn't have any answers for her, but maybe Honey-senpai would. She looked at the clock on the bedside table, the LED readout said 06:30. If that told her anything, it should mean that none of the others would be up yet. She would have time for a shower and change of clothes. She looked for a pen and wrote a quick thank you note to Kyoya, then quietly unlocked the door and left the room. She went down the hallway and was almost to her own room when she saw Tamaki walking towards her.

Haruhi sighed when she saw the look that crossed Tamaki's face. Tamaki shook his finger at her, and she raised an eyebrow in question. The look of indignation was almost more than she could bear, and she had to struggle to keep from giggling at him. She coughed to cover up the giggles, and bowed in apparent submission and apology.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, senpai. I didn't understand why you were so upset with me yesterday until Kyoya-senpai explained it to me. That's what you saw last night. He wasn't being bad. He umm... he was trying to show me why you were concerned."

Tamaki groaned as comprehension started to sink in, "Then, you and he didn't...there wasn't any?"

"Any what senpai? There is no merit for Kyoya-senpai sleeping with me. Even you should know that." The fact that she had spent the night sleeping in Kyoya's arms didn't escape her, but her explanation seemed to satisfy the agitated blonde in front of her.

"You are a good girl, Haruhi! Daddy is proud of you!" Tamaki tried to hug her and she ducked under his outstretched arms. He pouted at her and she narrowed her eyes at him. She had been in a decent mood and he was about to spoil it.

"You are NOT my father! Go bug the twins if you don't have anything better to do! I need a shower and change of clothes." She glared at him as he started to retreat into a corner, "Go take a shower senpai! You're still in last night's pajamas." When he still didn't move away from her doorway, she looked over his shoulder and said, "Nekozawa-senpai, I have a rat I need removed from my room."

Tamaki didn't even look behind him as he beat a hasty retreat. Haruhi sighed as she entered her room, and looked into Usa-chan's black button eyes. She gently pulled the rabbit's ears and sat down in a chair, wondering what actually had happened last night. She remembered the beach incident and then coming upstairs to change clothes. She had been exasperated with her father, since he'd taken all her host clothing out and replaced it with girlish dresses. She'd just finished putting on the least revealing one, when Mori-senpai had knocked and asked her to join them for supper. The resulting conversation buzzed through her mind: Tamaki had left in a royal huff after the argument, and then she'd run from the table, nearly incapacitating poor Nekozawa-senpai in the process by turning on a light of all things. She had dashed into the nearest bathroom and thrown up.

She smiled as she thought about the resulting conversation she'd had with Kyoya-senpai. He really was a nice person, even if he didn't show it that often. Then the thunderstorm had hit and all she remembered was being terrified. Well, she had been for about a minute, but then she thought remembered being held in a warm embrace, a soothing hand running up and down her back. She rubbed the bunny's nose. For the first time in over ten years, she'd woken from a thunderstorm, and instead of being wrung out from the fear and trepidation, she'd felt warm, safe and secure.

"I don't know what to think Usa-chan. My mind is playing tricks on me. It has to be; there is no way that I would remember playing with Kyoya-senpai. For one thing he's too rich, and for another why would he have wanted to? He could have anything he wants, all he has to do is ask for it. Just between us, it's why I hate them. They can have anything they want and all they have to do is pout. They don't know the meaning of work, or struggling to survive. How could they? They get everything handed to them on a silver platter." She gave another soft tug on the rabbit's soft ears.

The pink rabbit said nothing as it sat in the chair and watched her go into the bathroom. When she came out ten minutes later, she was clad in a pair of capris and a cotton long-sleeved shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

"I think I need to thank Nekozawa-senpai too. He's the only one who would have given me these."

She picked up Usa-chan and walked to the dining hall. No one was there, but then again, Kyoya and Honey were the late sleepers of the bunch. Tamaki might have gone back to sleep after waiting up for her all night. She just wasn't sure about Mori and the twins.

* * *

Kyoya waited until Haruhi had left the room to open his eyes. He had thought she might be mad at him when he'd heard her startled exclamation, but she had seemed more puzzled than angry. He didn't know for certain, but maybe she had been confused about waking up in his arms. He tried to recall his conversations with Ranka, but none of them seemed to indicate why she was so scared of thunderstorms.

A soft knocking told him that his best friend was at the door. He closed his eyes and hoped that Tamaki would get the hint when he didn't respond. Naturally, the blonde opened the door and poked his head inside.

"Kyoya, are you awake?"

"No, I'm sleeping, what do you want?" He purposely kept his voice low, almost at a growl, a warning to leave him alone. As usual the blond ignored him and sat down on the bed.

"I'm sorry, Kyoya."

"You should be. Now go away, I'm sleeping." He gave Tamaki a push that dropped the other onto the floor.

"Why did you let her stay here? She said that you were just explaining things to her. That is all that happened, right?"

"Tamaki, there is no merit in sleeping with her." He tried to turn onto his side, and pulled on his blanket, but the blanket was pinned under Tamaki's hand.

"So why did she return to her room so late?"

What? Did the idiot park outside her room last night?

"Did you ask her?"

"She said that you had to explain things to her. And she apologized for her behavior yesterday."

Kyoya placed an arm over his eyes so that Tamaki couldn't see his growing exasperation. "That's right. I had to explain to her, in terms that she could understand, that she is still a female and therefore she needs to depend on us more."

"Okay, but that is all that happened, right?"

Kyoya sighed and lowered his arm, then looked his best friend in the eye. "We talked for a bit. Apparently, she was sick just after you and I went to our rooms. She had just come out of the bathroom and I was trying to make her understand why we were all so worried about her, when you came in. Nothing else happened."

"Oh, okay."

"Will you please leave now? I need to get some sleep so I can figure out how to recoup our losses from yesterday's mishap."

"Are you sure nothing happened?"

Kyoya sighed and tried to rein in his temper. His sleepless night, including the text message from Mori-senpai, was beginning to wear on him, and the endless questions were rapidly adding fuel to the fire. "Tamaki, you are not her father, her brother or her lover. Nothing happened between us. If you doubt me, ask Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai. Do you really think that they would let ANY of us hurt her? No, they wouldn't, and none of us would survive if anyone did hurt her, because Ranka, Haruhi's real father, would kill us! Now please leave so I can get some sleep!"

Tamaki made no immediate move to leave and Kyoya reached under his pillow for his cellphone. "Hello, Nekozawa-senpai, could you come to my room? Why? Because I need some pesticide."

A high pitched "Eep!" and the rapidly retreating footsteps made him grin mirthlessly at the blank screen on his phone. Kyoya waited a few more moments to make certain that Tamaki was gone before he finally gave up the effort of sleeping and rolled out of bed. He called Nekozawa on the landline and asked him if the senpai had a gymnasium that he could workout in.

* * *

Takashi Morinozuka sighed as he ended his phone call. He and Mitsukuni had talked for another hour after leaving Kyoya's room. Mitsukuni finally fell asleep, but Takashi couldn't. He wanted to know what had happened on the beach and why. It didn't make sense that the day they were supposed to arrive, all of Nekozawa's security staff had quit. Something didn't add up and he was determined to find out what it was. It was rare enough that Umehito worked up the courage to ask anyone to visit, unless he was soliciting business for the Black Magic Club. But Umehito had been as shocked, if not more so, at the lack of staffing; or to put it more precisely, at the lack of security. The butler, Kadomatsu, and two maids would have been sufficient enough to run the household since the family wasn't actually planning on being there until school let out for the summer.

Takashi inhaled as the reality sunk in. Someone was actually targeting Umehito or his sister, and that made Takashi's blood run cold. If the host club hadn't come out, then Nekozawa could have been alone this weekend, and that could have led to something even more serious than Haruhi being thrown off the cliff.

Takeshi knew from past experience that if he waited too long something bad would happen. He sighed and looked at the clock. It was still too early to talk to anyone, and Kadomatsu would be by Nekozawa's side, but there were others he could reach out to, including Kyoya Ootori. Mori sighed and glanced at his sleeping cousin. He wouldn't waken Mitsukuni for something like this, even though his cousin would reprimand him later for not doing so.

He didn't relish calling Kyoya either, but he knew that Kyoya wouldn't be as forgiving as Mitsukuni if he didn't keep him informed. Mori reached for his cell phone and texted Kyoya with his findings. Kyoya sent him an immediate text back saying that he'd contact his private police force as well as Tachibana, Aijima and Hotta. Mori set his cell phone's alarm for 08:00 am. He knew that Mitsukuni wouldn't be up by then, but hopefully Nekozawa would be, and he could let him know what he had discovered.

* * *

Umehito watched silently as Kyoya ran. He'd been watching him ever since the younger man had asked where the gym was. Umehito knew that Kyoya wasn't the martial artist that Haninozuka was, or even as athletic as Morinozuka, but he also knew that when Kyoya was troubled he would run. He'd seen him run the track several times during their acquaintance, not that he would acknowledge that fact to anyone.

Kyoya was an Ootori, and Umehito knew all too well what it was like to be part of a powerful family. His own family tolerated his little idiosyncrasies, but he didn't think that Kyoya's family was quite as understanding. It crossed his mind every now and then, that of all the host club members, Kyoya was the one that he knew the least, and liked the most. He was an enigma to Umehito, quiet and calculating, but he could be kind when it suited him.

He had actually been surprised when Kyoya had accepted his invitation to come to the beach house. Normally the Shadow King ignored him, or pretended to, but Umehito knew that something or someone was on Kyoya's mind. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that the person was Haruhi Fujioka. The honor student was obviously someone special to Kyoya, but it wasn't until he'd heard what had happened on the beach, that he'd figured out why Kyoya was so concerned.

"Nekozawa-senpai, what have you found out?" Kyoya grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off his brow, as he waited for Umehito to answer.

"I apologize Ootori-san. It seems that most of our staff quit the day before yesterday, and the head butler didn't have time to find replacements before we arrived. It does sound as if someone wanted to disrupt your time here though." Umehito was upset about this. How could he take care of his little sister if he couldn't care for his friends?

Kyoya sighed and stated, "I called Tachibana and he's bringing some of my private security force with him. Between all of us, I'm sure that we can repopulate your force. By the way, you didn't happen to see Tamaki on your way in here, did you?"

Umehito shook his head, "Unfortunately not. We have renovations going on in the east wing, and I've been consulting with the main contractor about the specifications that we want done. I haven't seen Suoh-san since he left your room last night."

He offered Kyoya a bottle of water. The younger man took the drink and nodded his thanks. Umehito could tell by the way Kyoya was sipping at the water that something was on his mind. "I can listen if you want to talk, Ootori-san. I ...I ...again, I'm sorry that something like this happened."

Umehito turned to leave, but Kyoya put a hand on his arm. "I do not blame you, not entirely. You were at school with us; someone could have called and told you about the situation, and they did not. Those are the ones to blame, and those are the ones who will have to deal with Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai."

Umehito gulped as he imagined what his classmates could do to his staff. He hardened his thoughts as he imagined what could have happened if it had been Kirimi, not Haruhi, who had been thrown off the cliff. His eyes narrowed and he swiftly turned and left the room. Yes, it was time to find out just why he had been left with a skeleton crew, and no one to depend on but his friends.

* * *

Lunchtime for Haruhi usually meant dodging the twins as they zeroed in on her bento. She wasn't sure what would be on the menu for the day, and wandered into the kitchen to see if she could help the staff prepare lunch for the host club and Nekozawa-senpai. To her surprise, no one was in the kitchen and she looked out the windows wondering where everyone had gone.

Nekozawa's butler, Kadomatsu, was in the front yard speaking to the maid, Kuretake, as well as a few others that she thought she remembered seeing from Kyoya-senpai's security force. Haruhi nodded her head as she opened the refrigerator and started pulling out supplies to make a simple, yet nourishing lunch. Kuretake came in while she was making preparations and was surprised to see Haruhi standing in front of the stove.

"You should not be here, miss."

"Kuretake, you have enough to do, let me help with a meal. You need to get the rooms tidied up before the guys come back from whatever they are out doing. I can handle this aspect if you want to do that real quick. I can talk to Nekozawa-senpai, so that you won't be in any trouble."

Kuretake pursed her lips, then nodded her head and left to finish the few rooms that needed cleaning, including the jishuushitsu. She didn't know why Master Nekozawa needed the private study room opened up, he usually studied alone in his room, but figured that it must be due their guests and one guest in particular. She tidied the room and set off down the hallway. On her way to their guests' rooms, she smiled at Haninozuka when he ran out of his room and down the staircase, to join the others outside.

Tamaki waited until Honey joined them, then had them all follow him down to the beach. Once they were away from the house he looked at Kyoya who nodded as he took out a new pair of glasses. Kyoya sighed as he opened up his notebook and glanced around the small group.

"We might have an issue here. Mori-senpai sent me a text message this morning regarding the situation on the beach. I've already called in my private police force, as well as Tachibana, Aijima, and Hotta. They will be on patrol for the duration of our stay."

The others look at Mori who explained why they had called in the reinforcements.

"Takeshi, you should have woken me up. I would have helped you figure this out." Honey's soft reproach was met with a smile.

"I know Mitsukuni, but it was too early for any of us to anything. I knew that Kyoya would still be up, or not quite asleep, and he does have the resources that we will need."

Kyoya nodded in agreement, but before he could say anything more, Tamaki stepped in and said in a dramatic voice, "Men, this is something that we as the Host Club must look into. Our clients, friends and acquaintances could have been seriously hurt! We must take a stand and find out who is behind this diabolical plot!"

He slapped his fist against his palm for added emphasis. Hikaru and Kaoru gave him smart salutes, Mori said nothing, while Honey cheered. Kyoya's cell phone rang and he walked off from the group. He came back a few moments later.

"Aijima and Hotta have started the investigation. Nekozawa will be absent most of the day due to the restoration work in the east wing. Oh, and Honey-senpai, Haruhi said that she found Usa-chan waiting for his lunch in the dining room."

The others looked at Honey who smiled sweetly, and zoomed off in the direction of the dining room and his beloved Usa-chan.

"Wow, we didn't notice that Honey-senpai didn't have Usa-chan." Hikaru said. Kaoru frowned as he nodded in agreement, wondering vaguely why would Usa-chan have been in the dining room? How would Haruhi have known to look for him? The more logical of the twins shrugged his shoulders as he smacked his brother.

"Hey, this means that we get to sit next to Haruhi for lunch today!" Kaoru exclaimed and ran off towards the dining room, with Hikaru in hot pursuit and Tamaki screaming at the twins to leave his beloved daughter alone.

Once the others had gone, Kyoya looked up at Mori and sighed. "It will be okay, Mori-senpai. Tachibana and the others are quite good at this you know."

"It worries me that Nekozawa could have been here alone, and no one would have questioned his absence."

Kyoya gave a smile, "I know, but we are here now, and Nekozawa's staff has been alerted as well. Between all of us, there will be answers found, and someone will be made to pay." He started to walk after the others, then turned and said, "Would you and Honey-senpai be available later this afternoon or evening? I made arrangements with Ranka, and had Tachibana stop by Haruhi's house, so that she can study while we are here."

Mori nodded silently and the two walked in companionable silence to the house. Inside the usual chaos was reigning. Tamaki was bemoaning the fact that the twins were seated on either side of Haruhi, who was doing her best to ignore all three of them. Honey had rescued Usa-chan from the evil clutches of the dining room chair and was eating a slice of strawberry shortcake, pretending to feed Usa-chan at the same time.

Kyoya and Mori sat down, and Kuretake placed their lunch in front of them. Kyoya hid a smile at the simple meal. He knew immediately that Haruhi had made the meal, and picked up his chopsticks to begin eating.

"It's really good, Takeshi. Haru-chan is very talented in the kitchen." Honey's statement is met with nods from Tamaki, Kaoru and Hikaru.

Mori said nothing as he sat down and ate his food. Honey could tell that his cousin was preoccupied with the events from the previous day and looked around the table. The other guys were, with the exception of Kyoya and Takeshi, enthusiastically shoveling food into their mouths. Honey sighed as he knew part of the reason the two dark-haired boys were so preoccupied.

"Hey, Tono, what's our plan for this afternoon?" Kaoru's question brought everyone's attention back to their king.

"Well, men, we need to pool our resources and help our host with his problem. I know that Kyoya already has his workforce here, but we should do something too."

"Like what?" Hikaru's question was met with a brief silence then, as if a light bulb flashed over his head, Tamaki smiled in triumph.

"We shall go to town and shop like commoners! As Haruhi is a commoner, she will know all the best places to shop at."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow at the statement, but Haruhi beat him to a reply.

"We can't do that, senpai. We still have clients that we need to look after. And shopping wouldn't resolve the problem of what happened yesterday. Nekozawa-senpai doesn't know why his staff just quit on him, that's what we need to find out."

Kyoya cleared his throat, "Actually, I have a project that Haruhi will be helping me with. Tamaki, you can take Hikaru and Kaoru into town. That is a good idea; ask questions and see if anyone will enlighten us as to why Nekozawa-senpai's staff left, especially on such short notice. I will need to have Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai lend a hand to Tachibana for the time being. I'm sure you two won't mind helping here, will you?"

Tamaki and Hikaru high-fived each other, but Kaoru pursed his lips. Something was going on, and the youngest Hitachiin twin wanted to know what it was. While part of him agreed with the logic of having Mori and Honey stay behind to help with the security force, another part told him that their Shadow King was hiding some vital information and he wanted to know what it was.

Hikaru looked at his twin as they followed Tamaki out to the limousine. "What's wrong, Kaoru?"

"That's what I want to know," Kaoru replied. "Can you go with Tono? I have a feeling that more is going on here than Kyoya-senpai is telling us, but I don't want to alert them to our presence."

Hikaru gave a slow nod, "Yeah, sure, I'll tell Tono that you have a headache. Did you want to just cancel the whole trip? I can stay behind too."

"No, we need to make them think that we're all gone, not just milord." Kaoru smiled at his twin, and they walked up to Tamaki, who was waiting impatiently by the car.

"Hey boss, Kaoru's not feeling too good, might have been too much sun yesterday. I think he needs to go lie down for a bit."

Tamaki looked at Kaoru, who was drooped over Hikaru's shoulder, and asked, "Are you going to be okay, Kaoru? We can delay the trip, make it a club event."

Kaoru shook his head, "I'll be fine, milord, just need to lie down for a while and if we delay going into town, then our guests will be missing out on our event tomorrow, right? Once I get to feeling better, I can call mother about the costumes we'll need for tomorrow's cosplay. Hikaru can text me the information, and we'll be ready to go in the morning."

Tamaki gave Hikaru a questioning look. The older twin smiled and nodded in agreement. "Kaoru's right. We need to solve a mystery and while we're doing it, we can discuss tomorrow's event."

Tamaki nodded slowly, then pumped his fist into the air, "Very well! Hikaru shall come with me to investigate and Kaoru, you stay here and get better."

Both twins saluted, then Hikaru joined Tamaki in the car, while Kaoru turned to go back into the Nekozawa beach house. He spotted Tachibana carrying a familiar book bag, and shook his head as he realized just what was going on. The Shadow King knew that Haruhi would stress out over not being able to study all weekend. This arrangement of splitting the group in two, finally made sense.

"You okay, Kao-chan?" Honey had walked up so silently that Kaoru jumped when the older boy spoke.

"I guess so. Honey-senpai, why didn't Kyoya just tell us that Haruhi needed time to study?"

Honey smiled at him, "Tama-chan wouldn't be still long enough if we did that. Haru-chan needed at least an hour of study time and even though this isn't what we had planned to do for her, we can still give her that time she needs."

Kaoru thought about that as he climbed the stairway to the room he shared with Hikaru. He could see the validity in Honey's statement. Tamaki did tend to be a bit overbearing when it came to matters concerning Haruhi. From declaring himself her father, to being madly in love with her, the club's king would have made it difficult for the female host to get any studying done this weekend.

He sent a text to Hikaru. The older twin raised a brief eyebrow at his brother's wording but shrugged his shoulders and told Tamaki that Kaoru was going to take a brief nap while they were gone.

"Are you sure he'll be okay?" Tamaki's worry was palpable and Hikaru patted him on the shoulder.

"Kaoru didn't sleep well last night. He was worried about Haruhi, because she'd gotten sick after dinner." Hikaru didn't add that both twins had gone searching for the female host, and been shocked and surprised, when Nekozawa had informed them that she'd gone into Kyoya's room.

"Kyoya said nothing happened. He just talked to her about making sure to contact us before she does anything that might endanger herself from now on."

HIkaru raised an eyebrow at the slightly jealous tone in his leader's voice.

"Why didn't she come to us, Hikaru? We are her friends, aren't we?"

Hikaru motioned for Tamaki to follow him into a small cafe. Once they were seated and had ordered their drinks, Hikaru looked his leader in the eye. Confusion still reigned in those bluish-purple orbs and Hikaru sighed as he prepared himself for an explanation that even he wasn't too sure about.

"Think of it this way, boss. Up until the day she walked into that music room, who is the one person that Haruhi could rely on for help? In a word, no one. Her dad works all night and sleeps all day. She could only depend on herself, and she's having trouble believing that we can and would be willing to help her if she would just ask for it."

Tamaki thought about that, and then when the waitress came over to their table, smiled his host club smile at her who wilted on the spot. The waitress recovered quickly enough and asked the boys if she could get them anything else. Hikaru flashed her a devastating grin and the waitress blushed.

"You don't happen to know our senpai, Umehito Nekozawa? We were going to stay there this weekend, and he said that some of his staff had quit. We just wondered if he'd done anything to make them mad at him?" Hikaru kept his voice low, yet loud enough for the waitress to hear him.

The waitress looked confused for a moment, then shook her head. "I'm not sure what you mean? Master Umehito came home for the weekend? But, we were told that the house would be vacant until further notice. The construction workers would be the only ones needed at the house, until all the renovations were completed. Oh, my, you mean that no one was there and you had to fend for yourselves?"

Hikaru stared at Tamaki, who immediately went full host mode. "It's alright. You couldn't have possibly known that we were coming. It was a last minute decision after all. Don't worry, Nekozawa-senpai isn't mad, he is concerned though. He didn't know that no one would be there. Although we did have to wonder, why didn't anyone call him?"

Sachi bit her lip, "We were told that it was per Master's orders. None of us would have left if we had known you were coming! I'll contact the others, please let Master know that we'll be back tonight. We do have to finish out our work here this afternoon."

Tamaki and Hikaru waited until Sachi left to stand up and head outside. Hikaru hailed their ride and once they were inside stated, "Tono, someone is lying, and I don't think it was that waitress."

"Mmm, she was too shocked by what we told her. Let's go back and talk to Nekozawa, something fishy is definitely going on here."


	12. Chapter 11: Glimpse

**Chapter 10: Glimpse by Serina**

* * *

The incident had taken such a turn that it made Haruhi feel a little uncomfortable just from the memory of it. She wrapped herself in the velvety blanket and refused to get up. God forbid she accidentally found herself face to face with that rich bastard or any of those weirdos. No! She was mortified. Things couldn't have been more awful than they already were. Cringe! She couldn't bear it.

Yes, she was scared of thunderstorms! And yes, she didn't like people knowing about it. It made her feel even more vulnerable than she was. And having the perfect Ootori Kyoya and those host boys know about her fears, made her feel very awkward. She didn't even tell her father about it. Whenever there was a thunderstorm, she tried her best to overcome her fears herself.

The knock on the door startled her. She automatically wrapped the blanket around her body as a defense and concentrated her senses. She calmed a little when the knocking stopped. She had already talked to Tamaki-senpai. It felt a little awkward, especially when he went into a territory she wasn't comfortable talking about. Why would he ask if his friend slept with her?

Kyoya-senpai didn't act in any way that made her feel he had made anything out of what happened the night before, but she still felt out of her comfort zone around him. Lunch with them was quiet, and she was glad that the others were busy thinking about something. She didn't want to hear any more question about what happened in Kyoya's room. Especially the sly way the twins tried to question her. Nor did she want to have anything to do with this Nekozawa staff business―Kyoya and the rest of guys seemed very concerned about it, but she didn't have time to worry about that.

After lunch, for those very reasons, she locked herself in her room and tried to forget everything that happened. They were stuck in this summerhouse for a while, and she didn't know if she would be able to stay that long. As she lowered the blanket and tried to grab the book from the bed-stand, the knock on the door repeated, and then it was opened slowly.

"May I come in?" she heard Kyoya Ootori's voice.

She turned red. Panicked, she threw the blanket over her head and mumbled, "Yes, a minute please."

What did he want?

"Yeah," she said, realizing that she couldn't get dressed in a minute. "You can come in."

Kyoya walked in. He looked a little surprised that she was in bed, judging from the expression on his face. "I am sorry," he said, looking away. "I didn't know you were trying to sleep. I hoped you had rested already. But a lot happened, and I suppose you need time for yourself."

"No, no," Haruhi started quickly to protest, not understanding herself why she was doing it, after all, she didn't really want to talk to him. "I am fine. I was just reading a book."

She just didn't like people babying after her and treating her as if she was some fragile, little thing. He smiled. He actually smiled. Her heart started to beat faster. Her blush turned a few shades darker, and Haruhi was sure, he noticed it, because his smile broadened, turning into something between mild amusement and an actual grin.

"I wanted to talk to you," he explained, sitting next to her, so close that she instinctively backed away, almost to the other edge of the bed.

Kyoya adjusted his position and moved a bit away from the girl. She looked so adorable, just like he remembered her. Of course, she had grown, and now she was a beautiful young woman, but she didn't lose her innocent looking brown eyes, and the look in the them was still the same. How could he have not recognized her sooner? She had gotten some character though through years, he thought amused. But it suited her and he liked it even better. Why didn't she remember him at all? How could have everything about him been removed from her memory?

"Yes," she said timidly, almost uncharacteristically shyly, and when he looked back at her, she hid her eyes, looking everywhere but not into his eyes. She was clearly shy of him, and he wondered where this strange, new behavior came from. She was pretty bold earlier on. What had changed?

"Did you know those guys who had attacked you?" he asked.

"No," she said confused. "Why would you think I would have had anything to do with those morons? I thought you had a higher opinion of me than that."

"Did they say anything? Anything that seemed strange?" Kyoya asked again, ignoring her comments.

"Strange?" she shook her head. "Why are you asking these questions? They were just harassing the girls, and I was nearby, so I stopped them. What do you want to know?"

"Nothing," Kyoya suddenly smiled, "I was just trying to know what happened there."

"I see," she said, still refusing to look into his eyes.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked, and his voice sounded really concerned.

"Yes," she said. "I am fine as long as no one decides to question me if I slept with you or not. I'm really getting sick and tired of them trying to make more out of it than what it was."

The direct way she had said that made Kyoya lose his color a bit. These morons were crossing lines. He pursed his lips for a short second and smiled before Haruhi could catch the expression on his face.

"I didn't know it was an interesting subject for them to ponder on," he chuckled and then looked at her. "Don't worry, I will talk to them."

"You know," she suddenly started, her voice suspicious, "I don't get why you suddenly became so concerned about me. What is it that you want from me?"

Kyoya narrowed his eyes at her. Letting out a small air of sigh, his lips curved upward, forming a seemingly innocent, genuinely baffled smile. "I didn't know you held such a low opinion of me," he said. "I am concerned about you, because you were attacked. I thought we had already discussed this, and you understood."

"No," she shook her head and gulped. "I don't meant that. There is something else."

"Something else?" he gave her a strange look. "What are you speaking about?"

"I just have a feeling there is something that you know, and that I don't," she muttered and snorted, "you know what? Never mind! I don't want to know."

Kyoya didn't say anything. He only blinked, weighing in his mind if it would be alright to speak about the past with her, and realized that he didn't want to tell her anything. He wanted her to remember on her own. He wanted her to remember him. It was strange to have her here so close, and not be able to speak about his childhood love. As the thought crossed his mind, a small, light smile appeared on his lips. Haruhi caught sight it, and as she had no idea what the young man was thinking, she leaned forward.

"What are you smiling about?" she demanded, finding it strange that she would even care. "I mean... you just don't seem to smile a lot. Whatever! Forget what I said."

She looked at him again, and then lights twinkled in front of her eyes. Her head spun, and she lost her balance. Warmth coated her body suddenly, and a stream of images rushed through her head. It was so fast, so intense that she screamed. She couldn't tell what was happening around her. But the Ootori guy must have rushed forward to catch her, because she didn't fall out of bed like she anticipated. Her mind couldn't focus, there were images of a young girl and a boy playing together.

It seemed real, alive. She had a feeling if she reached forward, she could touch them. These images―they didn't seem hallucinations, they seemed like real memories. Why did it start to become so bad? Before she had these images visiting her very rarely, now it was so often; every time she looked at... at him... at Kyoya Ootori.

 _It was a cold day. Haruhi saw the park was misty, and the trees were bare with the exception of the evergreens. She saw the darkened leaves on the ground. It was a day in late November. Cold November morning, perhaps, and there was the girl who resembled her when she was five. Her hair was long and was falling down past her shoulders. She had a knitted beanie on her head and a coat of the same light violet color._ _Haruhi could see she was anxious. The little girl was worried, her shoulders were tense, but she walked forward determined. And then her face lit up when she saw the boy._

 _"Kyo," she called him and ran towards him._

 _He, too, had a winter appropriate attire. The boy smiled with exactly the same smile this man sitting next to her did. Her heart started to pound faster as the kids neared each other. The little girl wrapped her hands around the boy and gave him a soft hug. And then she broke the hug and beamed at him. But then the twinkle faded in her eyes and only a smile lingered on her lips. But there was sadness in that smile._

 _"Happy birthday, Kyo!" she said, and getting something out of the pocket of her coat, stretched her clutched hand forward._

 _He looked at the girl, first with surprise, then with apprehension and then something of a worry registered in his... his silver eyes. Yes, they were silver. The memories were faded, but Haruhi could see that those eyes were silver._

 _He opened his palm, and she gave him something. It was a small object that fit in her hand. Haruhi's eyes widened, as she realized that she had seen it somewhere different. It was a small charm in the shape of a crown with smokey quartz stones. Yes, she had seen it before. It was on the necklace that man, Tachibana-san, had given to her and asked her to give it to Kyoya-senpai. Her heart started to pound faster. It could have been just a coincidence, after all, charms of this sort were not a rarity._

 _"Why did you give me a gift like this?" she heard the boy speak, carefully observing the pendant._

 _"You have shadows in your eyes, like you hide pain and tears. You are my shadow king, Kyoya."_

 _"You are my princess of light then," he said pleased, and she smiled in response._

 _The images started to spin around her head, and she felt nauseous, and then they all faded, leaving nothing behind but a lingering, strange sadness that she had lost something and someone special._

* * *

"How is she Kyo-chan?" Honey-senpai asked, looking at the feverish girl.

"I don't know," Kyoya shook his head. "She was fine and all of a sudden she lost her balance, and then she screamed."

The door to the room was opened, and Mori walked in, "I have called the doctor," he said and stood in the corner next to his cousin.

"Do you think it has something to do with what happened yesterday?" Hikaru asked. "She isn't recovering from it too well it seems."

"She will be fine," Tamaki spoke firmly as if trying to convince himself. "She will be fine."

Soon the doctor arrived and had everyone leave the room. The guys were pacing worried in front of her door. The corridor was dimly lit by the lamps hanging on the walls. The weak light glistered on their faces and made them look grim. They were all very worried. What if something serious was going on with her? Kyoya rubbed his chin, still thinking about her strange behavior before she fainted. Did she remember something? Maybe very little things that didn't allow her to make the correct assumptions or maybe he was just imagining, because he really wanted her to remember him.

When the door opened, all the hosts ran towards it. The doctor walked out, and seeing the faces of six worried boys, sighed.

"How is she, doctor?" Tamaki hurried to ask. "Is she alive?"

The doctor gave the blonde a bewildered gaze and nodded, "She has regained consciousness. I have given her a sedative. She asked for someone named Kyoya."

He looked around. Kyoya walked forward. "Oh, it's you Ootori-san," the doctor said surprised, not expecting to see the son of his employer. "You can go in, but don't stay long. She is weak and needs rest. I think she is just a bit overwhelmed. Her blood pressure was too high."

Kyoya nodded and walked in, hearing the discontent, grumpy remarks from Tamaki. He didn't pay attention to his blonde friend, but noticed that his own heart wasn't very willing at the idea of seeing the girl weak and fragile. He schooled his facial features and walked in silently. The room was bright in colour and was filled with sunlight in contrast to the dark corridor they had all been waiting in. When he walked in, she shifted in the bed and tried to sit up. Her face was red and her short hair was messy. She peeked at Kyoya with unconcealed uncertainty, and started chewing her lower lip.

There was something really alluring about the way she sucked on her tender lip, and Kyoya's eyes immediately went to the lower region of her face. He blinked, surprised that her mere movement could have affected him in such a dubious way. He regarded her, carefully observed the positions of every single muscle on her face, the twitches of her eyebrow and the look in her eyes. She was bewildered. Something bothered and agitated her. He was very good at reading people, and this girl was no exception.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, impassively staring at her face. "The doctor said he's given you a sedative and that it might make you sleepy."

"I am so sorry," she sighed. "I am such a trouble for all of you. I spoiled this trip―"

"You didn't spoil anything," he sat down at the bed, next to her, and she shyly retreated, only piquing Kyoya's interest. "It was quite unfortunate that you fell sick. But it is not your fault."

She sucked in her lower lip again, and then bit it nervously. Kyoya's attention drifted for a short second, but then he noticed the expression on her face. She looked at him with acknowledgment. She looked at him as if she had recognized something in his features. She looked at him tentatively, but curiously.

"Do you need anything?" he asked, trying to put her at ease and find out what she was thinking about.

She shook her head. She felt kind of weak already. Her eyelids became heavy, and the bed started to seem too comfortable and soft. She made a nervous movement and asked him, "That pendant you have, Kyoya-senpai," she pointed at him raising, her chin, "is it... well, I just wanted to know where you got it from."

She realized the question sounded completely out of place and she was worried he would perceive it the wrong way.

"You mean this?" he lifted it up, pulling it out from underneath his shirt.

Her eyes widened when she saw the pendant shaped like a crown, and she gasped. Could it be, or was it just her overactive imagination?

"Yes," she murmured quietly, as it became harder for her to keep her eyes open.

"A very important friend had given it to me," he said after a moment of silence. He looked at her again; her breathing had become softer. She was asleep, he concluded.

"She was a very important friend, Haruhi," he said now with a sad smile, as he pulled the covers up to her shoulders to make sure she wouldn't get cold. "And I hope she will remember me."

He walked out, closing the door behind him and had everyone's attention on him quickly.

"How was she?" twins were asking in unison.

"Is she dying?" Tamaki was, as always, overreacting.

Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai patiently looked at him for his answer. He took a moment to collect his thoughts together and then turned to the other hosts.

"She is fine," he said. "I guess a little shaken by all of yesterday's events. She is asleep now, and I think it would be for the best if we leave her alone and let her relax."

Hikaru made a face as he asked, "Can't we just see her for a second?"

Kyoya wanted to roll his eyes, but he remained neutral and shook his head. Sometimes when the host club members became unreasonable, and he needed them to stay sensible, he would find himself inwardly cursing this damn world where he was surrounded by total idiots. Thankfully, she was back, and he hoped he wouldn't be alone anymore.

"We will see her when she wakes up," Honey-senpai smiled at all of them and moved down the hall.

Mori-senpai nodded. They quietly left the corridor. Tamaki was sulking and didn't seem to be happy not to see Haruhi before they departed. Kyoya's mind was busy with a few other things. What did she remember? Was it something essential?

He found himself wanting to tell her the truth. And there was also the problem with Nekozawa-senpai's summerhouse personnel. He needed to talk to Tachibana at this point and see if the chief of his security had found out anything material concerning the issue.

* * *

Tachibana was already waiting for him outside the summerhouse. He was standing in the lush garden, near the trees of blossomed rose bushes that crawled over the fence. The man was reddened under the burning sun, but refused to undo his tie or take off his suit jacket. Kyoya almost found the man's insistence on adhering to the dress code comical in a very endearing way. Kyoya approached him and cleared his throat to get the man's attention.

"Kyoya-sama," Tachibana bowed respectfully. "How is Haruhi-san? Is she alright? Kadomatsu-san told me that she had fainted again, and you needed to call a doctor."

"She is alright now," Kyoya said with a sigh. "I think she has remembered something, but I am not sure yet. I will find out once she wakes up. So, did you find out anything?"

"We have tried to track down the members of the security team to find out the reason of their sudden resignation. But..." he took a moment and looking around, lowered his voice, "they have left the country."

Kyoya wrinkled his eyebrows. This fact made everything more serious. Mori-senpai was right to be worried. Only Kyoya wasn't sure who was the target; Nekozawa Umehito, one of the hosts or Haruhi. His blood froze. He turned towards the summerhouse and gave it a strange glare.

"Try to find them," he said. "Contact your people. We need to control this before it gets messy."

"There is something else as well," Tachibana added. "Some anonymous source had transferred a considerable amount of money to the accounts of the former security staff members. I came across this piece of information when I was trying to find them, using their bank account information."

"This gets interesting," Kyoya gritted his teeth. "We need to find this source and discover their intentions. Please, contact the Cybernet tech-support, my father won't mind if we use their means to get hold of this person who doesn't seem to understand who he is messing with."

Tachibana bowed and left.


	13. Chapter 12: Progress

**Progress - by Tigyr**

* * *

Tachibana had wasted no time in utilizing the Cybernet security force and the reply that came back just hours after the others went to bed, had the head bodyguard immediately notifying not only Kyoya, but Nekozawa, Mori, and Honey as well.

The four boys met the bodyguard in Nekozawa's private suite. None of them were prepared for the report that Tachibana came up with.

"It's apparently a private organization trying to see who they can manipulate into leaving any of the local estates, not just this one. They go in, make an outrageously high offer and then execute those who have no family. The ones with families are then threatened with their families lives if they fail to comply completely with their demands."

"Blackmail?" Kyoya asked softly and Tachibana nodded.

"In effect, yes. However, here's the confusing part: they only target the security force. Sachi-san and the rest of the household were told to leave prior to the security force being bribed."

"It's a game: not one but two organizations, one trying to save the house and the other trying to kill it off." Mori-senpai stated and Honey-senpai nodded in agreement.

Tachibana shook his head, "So far we've not seen any kind of money transferred to the household servants, or even offered to them."

"This kind of game you wouldn't see it." Honey said. "It's about money, yes, but not so much between the security force and the organization, but the organization and its constituants."

"Come see what we can do and you can't do anything to stop us. The only thing is it's like a good twin, bad twin thing. The good twin is trying to warn others and might even have tried to warn the security force, only to be laughed at. The bad twin offers something so far above the norm, that most people wouldn't be able to resist it. Especially those driven by greed."

"Since the good twin couldn't get the security force to listen to him, he changed tactics and called the other servants saying that due to the repairs, the family wouldn't be able to make it for the normal weekend, or what have you and saved their lives in the process. Again, we were an unknown factor, as were our guests."

Kyoya, Mori and Honey turned as one to Nekozawa, who if possible, had turned even more pale than he normally looked. "Who hates your family this much senpai, that they'd want to do this to you?"

Umehito sighed as he finished the latest phone call. He had suspected a few people just due to how readily his staff had left. He hadn't expected it to be his old childhood friend and sometimes rival Taka Hoittoggu. The Whitedog clan would sometimes clash with his father over business negotiations, but never would he have thought they'd go this far. He sighed again, straightened his shoulders and then proceeded to call Tachibana and Morinozuka. He thought about calling Ootori-san, but that young man had enough on his mind with Haruhi Fujioka and the rest of the Host Club.

"I don't know if I can believe that Hoittoggu-san would do such a thing. Admittedly, it's been a few years since they moved away, but he was never a vindictive person, none of his family were."

Tachibana and his men nodded as they ran the Hoittoggu name through the databases that they'd set up. Morinozuka sent a text to Kyoya, informing the Shadow King of their findings, and letting him know that Tachibana was already sending the information to the Cybernet Tech-support.

* * *

The doctor phoned Kyoya later that afternoon, and Kyoya told him that Haruhi had fallen asleep soon after his visit. The doctor asked Kyoya about foods they'd eaten, ruling out food poisoning when none of the others had been sick, and then asked Kyoya if he knew any other details about the female host.

"I know that she's been worried about her studies, and she was a bit frazzled by the storm last night too."

The doctor made a note in Haruhi's records, detailing what the youngest Ootori had said, as well as what Haruhi had related. He then told Kyoya to make sure that Haruhi rested for the remainder of the day.

"If I might make a small suggestion, , get the girl some cooler clothes. It's too warm for her to be dressing the way that she was the past two times I've seen her, Ootori-san, and make sure that you wake her up in the next few hours and get her to drink some juice or at least some water. If she wants to get up let her, but don't let her over do it. "

Kyoya nodded even though the doctor couldn't see him. He'd thought about that too; the possibility of heat exhaustion or just too much sun. It was a fact that they kept her identity a secret from their clients, and in doing so, they'd inadvertently contributed to the possibility that she'd gotten over-heated. Add in the dunking, the food and then the storm...he was surprised that Haruhi hadn't fainted sooner. Kyoya wrote down all that the doctor told him and then turned to the others. To his surprise, Umehito Nekozawa was there as well, and he smiled at the concern on everyone's faces.

"The doctor said that Haruhi will be fine. She needs a bit more rest and then we need to make sure that she stays hydrated for the duration of our stay here."

Kyoya then looked at the others. "Honey-senpai, I need you to start setting up Haruhi's study schedule with Kaoru. Make sure we allow for club time, but early mornings should be okay for Mori-senpai and you might be able to help her in the afternoon or evenings. We know that we have at least 48 hours remaining in our stay here, we can make the most of them. In between club and studies, give her a minimum of an hour of time to herself."

Honey tugged on Kaoru's arm and led the younger boy away. He knew that Kyoya wanted to speak to the two main instigators behind part of Haruhi's illness. Kaoru glanced towards his twin, but Hikaru was already glaring at Kyoya who was ignoring the stare and rubbing his new pair of glasses on his shirt. Kaoru knew that when Kyoya started doing that, heads were about to roll, and he hastened down the hall after Honey and Nekozawa.

Tamaki and Hikaru glared at Kyoya, and he straightened his glasses as he motioned for them to follow him. Once they were well away from Haruhi's door, he turned and glared back at them, until they both dropped their gazes.

"Listen to me, you two idiots. Haruhi is stressed out for several reasons, the most important one being her studies; if she fails, she loses her scholarship, which means that we lose not only a Host Club member, but a friend as well, because she cannot afford the tuition it costs to attend. If she drops out, I will personally hold you both responsible for the fallout that will come afterwards, namely the drop in attendance and income that Haruhi has been helping to bring in."

 _Not to mention the heartache that he would endure upon losing her yet again._

Hikaru sighed as he nodded his head, then looked at his senpai. "What else is going on that we don't know about?"

"She's not used to the food for one thing, and according to the doctor, we're making her wear clothes that are too hot for her."

Tamaki exclaimed, "Well, she should just wear dresses for the duration of our stay here!"

Kyoya shook his head, exasperated because Tamaki clearly hadn't listened to anything he'd just said , and too his surprise Hikaru did too.

"We can't do that boss," Hikaru stated. "As Kyoya-senpai just said, the clients are still here and are expecting an update on Haruhi. If they don't see her, or if we keep them in the dark, they'll just worry and that will hurt not only sales, but our reputation as a Host Club."

Kyoya was impressed with Hikaru's thinking, but the mention of their reputation as a Host Club, especially the issue at the beach, made him wonder if he should send all the girls, including Haruhi, back to Tokyo. He was about to send a text to Tachibana and Mori for their input when Tamaki spoke up.

"Kyoya, we have enough resources between all of us to keep the clientele safe." Tamaki was in serious mode and the other two stared at him. "Between Honey-senpai, Mori-senpai, the Black Onion Squad and Hotta, Aijima and Tachibana-san no one else will get hurt."

Hikaru nodded as he said, "If everyone's in agreement, I can have Mother send us her newest line; it's something that Kaoru and I had suggested to her when Haruhi joined our ranks. In the meantime, I saw what Nekozawa-senpai had given her is similar to what Mother made and will be cooler than what she has, aside from the dresses. As you've already stated, we can't have her being a female while we have the customers here, but the clothes he gave her are up to our expectations and won't deter from the natural-host look."

Kyoya sent a quick text to the others asking for their opinion and looked up when he got the reply he more or less expected.

"Very well, as I already stated, we have approximately 48 hours left of our stay here. I need one more thing from you two. Go get some commoner fruits and juices for Haruhi. I need to see what progress Mori-senpai and Nekozawa-senpai have made, and then let's all meet in the main dining room at 7pm for supper."

Kyoya waited for them to leave before heading back towards Haruhi's room. He eased the door open, just enough to verify that the girl was still asleep. He couldn't help himself, he had to see that she was okay. He crossed over to the bed and stared down at her sleeping form. She was still slightly flushed, and he went into the bathroom, rinsed out a cloth with cool water and gently ran it over her face.

"Kyo- wait for me, Kyo," she didn't wake up as she said it and he hoped that in some small way she could know that he would always be there for her.

"I'm still waiting Haruhi." He whispered as he ran the cloth over her neck and arms. When he stood up, she briefly opened her eyes, and she stared at him in wonder.

"Here, take a small sip of water," he said as her eyes started to close again. She obeyed without question and he smiled as she drank almost the entire glass. "Are you feeling any better, Haruhi?"

"Sleepy," she stated and he watched as she settled back down again. He placed a fresh carafe of water on the bedside table, as well as a clean glass, then left the room as quietly as he'd entered it. He strode down the hall to the gym where Mori-senpai and Nekozawa-senpai were in deep conversation with his security officers. He was a bit surprised to see Honey-senpai and Kaoru there too. Tachibana had obviously just informed the others about the money transfers, Nekozawa had added his input about his former friend and none of them were happy about the news.

"There is more going on, there has to be. What we need is to find out what and who else is behind this betrayal." Kyoya stated as he started pacing the floor. "Hikaru, Tamaki, why don't you go back into town and talk to Sachi again. Does anyone else want to volunteer? Mori-senpai, I'd appreciate it if you or Honey-senpai would stay behind so that we can start on Haruhi's studies."

"I can go." Everyone turned and stared at Nekozawa who gave a ghost of a smile. "It's not that big of a town and there are a few who might be faithful to me and my family. I can risk it for a friend; and I need to ascertain who is going to come back and what positions will need to be filled. I do not believe that Taka-san knows about this, and I need to contact him as well."

Kyoya gave a slow nod. Nekozawa handed him a small bundle of clothing. "They are clothes that my mother will never miss as she has never seen or worn them. I would be honored if you could give them to Haruhi-san as an apology for what happened earlier."

Simple in design and color, much like Haruhi was, the only real difference would be the price tag and Kyoya would make certain that the girl never saw those.

"Thank you senpai, we actually had planned on asking if you might have something for her to wear, once she wakes up. Honey-senpai, I think Haruhi should be awake in about half an hour or so. You can meet us in the study at that time."

Nekozawa gave them one of his rare smiles and Kyoya could actually see him straighten slightly from the compliment. Honey gave Kyoya a subtle thumbs-up as he walked down the hallway with Mori and Nekozawa, and made some suggestions about their trip into town.

Kyoya nodded as he led Kaoru back down the hall and into the library where they were going to help Haruhi study once she woke up.

"Senpai, is Haruhi really all right? What haven't you told us about her? Why won't you tell us so that we can help her too?"

Kyoya sighed as he looked into Kaoru's earnest eyes. The hosts were all so sincere in their worry about the female host, and to be honest, there were some things that he could tell them without giving away everything.

"Aside from the natural worry that we all have for her, as I told your brother, if she fails, we lose her not only in club, but possibly as a friend. That's why I was trying to set up the small study sessions with Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai."

"Did nothing really happen between you two last night?" Kaoru asked bluntly and Kyoya glared at him. Kaoru stared back at him daring him to tell the truth.

"Nothing happened between us last night. For God's sake man, the poor girl was violently sick after eating too much seafood, do you really think so low of me that you believe I'd take advantage of anyone who had been that ill?"

Kaoru had the grace to look ashamed and Kyoya shook his head. "You did, didn't you? No matter what we've said to any of you, none of you believe us that I didn't sleep with her!"

"So why did it take so long for her to come out of your room then?" Kaoru challenged him and Kyoya sighed.

"Because he wanted to make certain that I wouldn't be alone to face my fear of the thunderstorm!" Haruhi shouted and both boys turned towards her. She stepped into the room, still huddled inside of the blanket that seemed to have become a part of her. Kyoya was about to tell her to go back to her room and get more sleep when she continued.

"Kyoya-senpai found out that my greatest fear is thunderstorms. I've always been terrified of them, and I've always had to face them alone, because my dad is usually at work when they hit. Last night it hit just as Kyoya-senpai finished explaining why I should have called for more assistance with the boys that were harassing our clients."

"Why didn't you just say so?" Kaoru asked.

"It wasn't any of your business! It makes me feel vulnerable and awkward and I don't like feeling that way! I'm just used to overcoming these things by myself." She hugged the blanket tighter as she sat down beside Kyoya. "Kyoya-senpai just wanted to make me feel safe, and I don't think it is fair that you guys think so lowly of him that you think he'd try and hurt me in any way! Not only is there no merit in it for Kyoya-senpai, it really isn't anyone else's business!"

She opened up the first book and started to read the text that was written there. Kaoru gave her an awkward hug and soft apology as he left the room. Kyoya started to follow him when Haruhi asked him to stay.

"I'm sorry senpai, I didn't mean to interrupt, but I couldn't let him keep thinking that way about you. Ever since we arrived here, you've gone out of your way to help me, and I seem to just keep making things worse."

"You haven't done anything wrong Haruhi. Aside from what we've already discussed, which I think we have done enough of that particular topic. Now then, how are you feeling? Are you ready for Honey-senpai or Mori-senpai to come and help you study? Or do you just need some time on your own?"

She smiled up at him as she opened the first book. It was English and she knew that she'd definitely need some help with it, so she asked if he'd have either of the other two come help her.

"I feel loads better Kyoya-senpai. Thank you for looking after me today."

He put a hand on her forehead, and noted that the redness had gone down, as had her temperature.

"Good, will you feel up to Club tomorrow? We need to try and make up for the past few days losses. No, I'm not going to add it to your debt, aside from what I already told you about. It's not your fault that you were ill today. That's on the rest of us for not taking better care of you."

She turned a terrified gaze on him, "You didn't call my father did you? He'll be terribly worried."

"Don't worry, I haven't called him, yet. I wanted to make certain that nothing was seriously wrong with you before I did. The doctor said it was primarily stress that made you faint. By the time we add in the heat and the excitement that you endured, as well as your worry about your studies, it is not too surprising that you fainted."

She sighed in relief as she turned once more to her text book. "I'm glad you were there last night; it's the first time anyone's been there for me during a storm."

"Why don't you want anyone's help?" He asked softly, not knowing if she would answer.

Haruhi slowly opened to the page she needed, and Kyoya knew that she was trying to figure out what to say, or maybe how to explain it.

"I can't rely on anyone to be there when I need assistance. My dad works or is sleeping; I have never had anyone else I can turn to."

Kyoya frowned as he acknowledged the truth behind her words. Prior to her entering the club, Haruhi didn't have anyone to help or administer to her. Surely she didn't think that the hosts wouldn't come to her aid if she needed them. Kyoya stood up and left the room, after telling her that he'd send Honey in to help with her studies.

Haruhi sighed as she closed the book again. She had told the truth; she really wasn't used to anyone helping her, and she knew that it made the others unhappy, but she didn't want to come to rely on them. She snuggled into the blanket, and opened the book to the page she needed. After all, wouldn't they all go their separate ways once they graduated from Ouran anyway?

* * *

Kaoru sat in down the hallway, not really paying much attention to anything. He had lingered in the doorway for a few moments, and heard the discussion between the other two. Did Haruhi really think that she wouldn't be able to rely on them for help if she asked for it? He looked up as Kyoya left the room and went to stand up, when Kyoya motioned for him to stay where he was and sat down beside him. Neither of them spoke for several minutes and then Kaoru glanced at the older boy wondering out loud the questions that were bothering him.

"What do we do, senpai? How do we make her see that she has friends now? People who are willing to help her, if she just lets us in."

Kyoya shrugged as he honestly didn't know how to reply.

"Maybe we need to show Haru-chan that she can depend on us. It won't be easy, but maybe we can show her that we need her too. Not just as a host, but as her friends."

Honey walked over and knocked on the door, "Haru-chan, are you ready for me and Usa-chan now?"

Kyoya and Kaoru couldn't hear the girl reply, but watched as their senpai gave them a thumbs up as he entered the room.

* * *

Honey studied the girl as she read silently from her text book. When she turned to ask him a question about the section she was reading, he smiled at her and gave her a reply. She nodded in understanding, and went back to the paragraph. He watched as her lips moved and the smile that curved them when she was able to apply what he'd just told her to the next section as well. He had admitted to Takashi, that he too, had a small crush on the female member of their group but he and Takashi had already discussed their feelings for her, and they both knew that they would never be able to do more than admire the lady in question.

Kyoya, despite being the third son of the famous Ootori's would have a bit of difficulty as well, but not near as much as Tama-chan. The dragon-lady of a grandmother would never permit Tamaki to marry a commoner's daughter, especially after the scandal between Tamaki's father and mother, and despite the similarity in ages, and how open-minded their mother tended to be, he wasn't sure that the Hitachiin twins would be able to do so either.

No, Kyo-chan would be the best one for their princess, they just had to find a way to get her to start trusting the rest of them as well.

"Senpai? Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry Haru-chan, I was thinking about dessert for tonight." Honey blinked at her as he gave his standard reply.

Haruhi chuckled as she repeated the question about the current passage in her book. Honey looked at the book, made a few suggestions and then asked her about her own dessert preferences.

"Haru-chan, I know that you've stated that you don't like a lot of sweets, but you do seem to like strawberries?"

"I don't like a lot of cakes to be more precise, senpai. Most of the cakes are too sweet, and I think it's the frosting on them."

Honey nodded as he thought about the simple strawberry shortcake that she would eat with him on the rare occasions that she has eaten any dessert.

"If you could create a dessert then, would you just leave off the frosting? Or would you try something else?"

Haruhi made a quick notation on her pad of paper, highlighted a passage in her book, and then looked at him.

"Honestly? I'd like just something simple, like a fruit salad or a yogurt parfait."

Honey's eyes gleamed as he jotted that down on his own sheet of paper. "Just like strawberries with vanilla, or what else?"

Haruhi tilted her head to the left as she made another notation. Honey glanced down at it, and corrected the spelling for her, absently complimented her on the quick way she had picked up what she had just been taught, and then waited for her to answer the question.

"It really depends on what is in season. I usually like apples with some cinnamon, and maybe a bit of granola, with just a plain or vanilla yogurt, sometimes with honey added depending on how tart the apple is." Haruhi smiled as she imagined eating a simple yogurt with nothing else added.

"You eat strawberries, though." Honey said.

"Yes, I do like strawberry shortcake as it's not as sweet, it tends to have just a heavy-whipped cream on it. But then again, we don't have to limit ourselves to just strawberries, there are other berries and fruits. That's if we wanted to do a parfait."

"Would you like me to start asking Kyo-chan to bring more parfaits into the club?" Honey-senpai asked as they closed up the books to get ready for supper.

"Only if it's not added to my bill," Haruhi said wryly and Honey laughed in agreement as he picked up the notes he'd been taking while they were talking, and walked with her out of the room.

* * *

Supper ended up being simple fair, at least for the "rich bastards." For Haruhi, it was a delight. A vegetable tempura with white rice, some fresh fruits for dessert and a hot green tea to wash it all down. She beamed at the boys, especially Honey just before she left the table with Morinozuka who was her tutor for that nights study session. As he adjusted the lamps for their lesson, he asked her why she was so happy about the meal.

"It's basically what I was talking to Honey-senpai about before supper. I know that you guys might not always understand, but that simple meal to me is worth more than all of your bank balances put together. It kinda reminds me of my mother."

Mori listened as she explained. "Mom loved to cook and I love to make things that remind me of her. She left me her recipes, and her love for the law. That's why this scholarship is so important to me. It's the best way for me to honor her memory."

Mori nodded thoughtfully as they opened up the text books and began their session. Haruhi listened as Mori read a few lines. His deep voice was comforting and she wondered why she wasn't as interested in him as she was with Kyoya-senpai.

"I'm too wild." Mori-senpai said as if he'd read her thoughts and she sighed in contemplation.

"No, I think it's that you're always so serious and you rarely speak."

"Hmm."

"See? One word sentences or observations."

"One doesn't need a lot of words to get the point across." He said and she glared at him.

"You talk with Honey-senpai."

"He's family."

"So why should I trust you when you don't say anything? And yet of all the hosts, I think I trust you or Honey-senpai the most."

"You get frustrated." Mori stated.

"Especially with Tamaki-senpai or the twins. As for Kyoya-senpai," her voice trailed off as she struggled to find words to explain what she was feeling for Kyoya.

"He is an enigma to you?" Mori-senpai suggested and she nodded in agreement.

"Exactly! He's so strange. He can be cold, and it feels like he doesn't have a lot of mercy sometimes, but then he goes and does something nice, like he did last night, and it makes me confused."

Takashi Morinozuka took a deep breath as he contemplated how best to explain just who and what Kyoya Ootori was.

"He seems so lonely sometimes." Haruhi stated softly and Mori stared at her. He waited patiently, to see if she would continue. "Maybe I'm imagining things. After all, he's an Ootori; how can a rich bastard be lonely?"


End file.
